Work of Art
by KMriver
Summary: Kakashi is an orphaned underage worker. Meeting Anko changes Kakashi's life. Kakashi/Anko AU M For Language
1. Didn't Catch Her Name

**Overview:** I don't consider myself a writer, and I've never written any stories before. I hope I can write this story well so that it revolves around Kakashi's struggles and how his relationship with Anko helps him overcome them. I am looking to continue. Yes? Please review.

I've lived a bit in Japan, so I try to bring out some of the Japanese culture in this story, including things like the soccer club, and respect towards seniors.

The amazing cover photo is all thanks to permission from kickbass77 on deviantart. (I changed it to one by gendou123 on deviantart)

Enjoy~

* * *

The school bell rang as the clock struck 3. Kakashi already set ran out of the classroom, racing down the stairs towards his bike. He accidentally hit Asuma on the shoulder as he sprinted through the hallways receiving a threatening grunt. He really had to get to work today.

"Oi! Bakakashi are you ditching?" screamed Obito as he caught Kakashi about to bike out the front gates of Nishigawa Middle School. _Drats_.

Captain Shisui was going to kill him for skipping yet another soccer practice.

No turning back now.

"Later Baka!" Kakashi yelled as he shoved his helmet on biking away down the narrow streets of rural Japan. He made his way through the packed honking cars, arriving at the small familiar mom-and-pop shop, "Harbor's Crafts". The incident was a good 6 years ago, and he'd started working for rent ever since. They say only time can heal heartbreak. Yet his mental trauma seemed to only get worse and worse as the years past. Lately not even his job helped him take his mind off his past.

As he opened the door to the small tavern, he was greeted by an enthusiastic flash of yellow.

"Hello! I'm Minato at your service! This might not be the biggest store in town but we have handmade goods made with lots of love! Over here we have a collection of amulets! And here, yes, this is my favorite part too, we have a variety of lucky cats! Buy one and you're sure to get filthy ri- oh it's just you Hatake-kun."

Kakashi sweat dropped as Minato finally realized that it was none other than the middle school woodworker. Sighing Minato returned to the counter in the empty warm store.

"Kakashi. How many customers do we get a day about?" Minato asked suddenly.

Kakashi looked up surprised. "I'm not sure sir. Probably 4? I wouldn't know since I'm in the back most of the time. Probably a lot more-"

"We get 2 average Hatake-kun." Minato interjected curtly. Sighing once more, Minato started, "I know how much this store means to you. But with our current sales, I just don't know how much longer our business can keep up. So please just bare that in mind."

Kakashi said nothing as he made his way to the woodworking table behind the store.

 _Maybe I was a bit too straightforward. This is the kid's only family after all... But who knows how much longer this store can keep up_ , Minato thought sadly as he watched the silver haired teen start his daily crafting schedule. It's not like he wanted to put stress on Kakashi. But he thought it would be better to forewarn him of the danger, rather than Kakashi having to deal with it on the spot.

Kakashi was by far fortunate. Having lost his family at a young age left with little to no financial aid, he had to work his way to make a living since he was a kid. He even lived in his own small apartment. Minato still recalled the day the kid had showed up at his shop requesting a job.

 _"I can't take you in, you're just a kid!"_

 _"I don't have parents. I'm completely on my own. I need a job, now. I'm willing to do anything, and I'm a quick learner." the boy with the mask reasoned._

 _"Well... I guess I could have you learn to woodwork. I can teach you, but you're gonna have to work hard." Minato tried to say as seriously as he could. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid._

In fact it was only until Kakashi became a middle school student that Minato had allowed Kakashi to work at the store for pay. Since Kakashi had asked of his own free will, Minato was more than happy to welcome the young worker. But more than anything Kakashi was talented. Having inherited his father's skill in craftsmanship, Kakashi was a natural, and Minato would never have allowed him to waste such a gift.

"Hatake-kun how was your day," asked an auburn haired girl as Kakashi walked through the door to the wood room.

"It was fine Rin. How did you even get here before me?"

"See the taiko captain let me take a break today, so I left early!"

"I see."

Kakashi quietly grabbed a block of wood from a cabinet and began hacking away first to get a general outline of the snake he wanted to carve. Then after about an hour of chipping a way, there was a crack. The wood split in two ruining any possibility of carving a smooth reptilian creature. Grimacing, he picked up his knife, inspecting it suspiciously. The white tool was slightly chipped due to Kakashi's abusive treatment of it as a kid. It was a memento of his father, who had died leaving Kakashi bitter. _Dull useless blade,_ he concluded.

"Hatake-kun?" Rin asked, shaking him out of his thoughts.

"Mhm?"

"I just forgot I have an errand to run. I'll see you later!"

"See you, Rin..." the silver haired boy said absently, as Rin made her way to the door.

Rin looked back worriedly at the disheveled, pondering teen one last time before stepping out the back door.

Kakashi sighed and exhaled as he sunk into his small chair. Suddenly he heard Minato's burst of enthusiasm on the other side of the door in the shop. Was it a customer? Kakashi walked back to the store through the door standing at the cash register, spotting Minato excitedly talking to a small girl who had just walked through the door. He observed the thistle-eyed girl as she stared in wonder around the store. She was about his age, which was strange since every kid around here attended Nishigawa Middle School, and yet he hadn't ever seen this stranger. She wore a plain burgundy shirt and khaki shorts, her violet hair tied back in a careless messy ponytail.

As Minato just about finished his practiced walkthrough of the store, he addressed Kakashi who was staring off into space at the counter.

"Kakashi. I have to leave now, so please stay with our customer until she's satisfied and ready to go. Alright?"

Kakashi nodded absently waving goodbye to his boss.

Minutes, and maybe hours went bye as the strange girl walked around slowly over and over through Harbor's Crafts. Her pale brown eyes didn't miss a single detail as they scanned through even the smallest trinkets of the shop. Kakashi even found himself staring at her soft features as she smiled at his creations dangling from the ceiling and walls.

"Did you really make all of these?"  
Kakashi snapped out of his daze as he realized she was addressing him.

"Sure did."

"This place is beautiful..." she whispered trailing off. "Oh ... I'm sorry for having to make you stay here for so long. I know you're probably busy.  
"No problem. I really don't have anything better to do."

She smiled. "See you later... Kakashi wasn't it?"

"Right." Kakashi lazily waved getting one last glimpse of her soft purple hair as she bounded out the front door. _Huh. I didn't catch her name..._


	2. Caught Staring

*Beep beep beep beep* smack.

Kakashi had just woken up from perhaps the deepest sleep he had experienced in what felt like a year. The best sleep too. Brushing his teeth and grabbing his flu mask and school uniform he made his way outside his small apartment. Grabbing his bike on the lower level, he made his way out into the fresh 5 AM morning breeze. The wind rustled his silver hair as he biked past the endless rice farms. Making his way to Harbor's Crafts, he couldn't help but remember the girl who'd popped up at the shop just yesterday.

Standing his bike in the small parking lot Minato had purchased, he opened the creaking wooden front door as he flipped the "closed" sign to "open". Kakashi was an employee, and worked on a pay-by-hour policy. He needed every hour he could work get to make his way in life. Even with financial aid from Nishigawa middle school and the Namikazes (Minato and Kushina), he needed every work hour he could squeeze out. But really he enjoyed his job. Perhaps it was his genes. The satisfaction of creation ran through his blood. He wanted to convince himself that he was working for the money and the money only. He wanted to believe that craftsmanship was simply a useful talent. He wanted to believe he wasn't like his father. And as much as he tried to sit still at that register reading his tabloid Icha Icha novel, he couldn't stop the itching desire to enter the wood room.

Scrambling into the wood room behind the shop he grabbed the piece of cracked wood he had discarded yesterday wildly. Hurriedly, he began precisely chipping away at the wood, transforming the initial serpent into a sitting dog. With the cracks of one part of wood, Kakashi knew that it was possible to create something completely different yet beautiful. Suddenly he heard the familiar creaking of the front door. It must have been Minato. He rushed back through the back door to the cash register to greet his boss. Instead, the violet-haired girl he'd seen yesterday was standing awkwardly at the door in an oversized school uniform.

"Hey Kakashi... umm you go to Nishigawa Middle School right?"

"Yeah... what brings you here?"

"Haha well..." the girl laughed turning profusely red in embarrassment, "I don't... I-don't-know-how-to-get-to-school!" she said in a blur.

Kakashi chuckled inwardly at the embarrassed girl. Wait. He checked his clock. _Damn_. It was already 8:10 and school was starting in less than 10 minutes.

"Hey say something, I'm serious ya know!" the girl stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeah yeah, I hear you kid. Gotta bike? We only got 10 minutes so if you don't want to be late you better find one." Kakashi stared at the fidgeting figure. Obviously she didn't have one. Sighing he said, "Alright follow me." Making their way outside to the parking lot, Kakashi hopped onto the bike and kicked up the bike stand.

"Hey wait!"

"You need a ride right? Well hop on!" Kakashi said pointing his thumb to the small seat on the back of his bike.

"W-Wait..."

"Come on we don't have all day." Kakashi said lazily as the girl awkwardly mounted the bike behind Kakashi. "Hold tight." he said as he raced through the streets past honking crazy cars.

"You're insane!" the girl exclaimed as a car almost ran into them.

"Trust me I've got the hang of this." Kakashi countered as another car swerved to avoid them. The purple haired girl sweat dropped at the uncaring teen as he received shouts from almost every car they passed.

After what seemed like a journey through hell, the two finally reached Nishigawa Middle School.

"We're here. Just in time." Kakashi stated obviously happier about his biking skills than the fact that they'd arrived on time for school.

"Thanks Kakashi." she said as she got off the bike.

"No problem. And what's your name again? I haven't ever seen you in the hallways."  
Besides the fact that Kakashi wasn't exactly friends with many of his peers, he was particularly observant and knowing of the people at Nishigawa.

"My name's Anko. You haven't seen me because today's my first day here. That's why I didn't know the way here smart one!" she laughed as she smacked him playfully on the head. Kakashi looked up at the laughing figure. It was a hearty, comforting laugh. Not some annoying fake girl giggle, but a genuine heart-warming laugh. And the smile; he could imagine carving her cute small smile from a piece of softwood. He shook his head as he watched Anko run to the principal's office. What was he thinking?

That morning there was a school-wide meeting in the gym. As usual when a new student enrolled he or she had to greet the entire school. Kakashi sat in line with the class 2B. He spun a pen in his hand idly hoping this would be over soon. Anko's clear cut voice interrupted his thoughts.

"My name is Anko Mitarashi. I'm a second year. Yoroshikuonegai shimasu!"

Kakashi smiled under his mask as Mitarashi presented in front of the school: no fear in her voice whatsoever.

The principal then stated, "Mitarashi-san will be in class 2B with the second years. Please treat her with respect and show her around Nishigawa. Mitarashi-san what club are you interested in joining this year?"

It was the usual: taiko, science, or volleyball. Basically the whole school's female population fell into these clubs; it wasn't even a question meaningful to Kakashi who took part in the soccer club. Second to wood working, soccer was Kakashi's favorite stress reliever. Even though he had to skip practices time to time, getting bashed by his captain Shisui and often arrived late to practice, no one on the team doubted that Kakashi put his heart and soul into the club.

"I would like to join the soccer club!" Anko stated happily.

There were murmurs and whispering. Principal Sarutobi just smiled with acknowledgement. Kakashi was so surprised that he almost stood up in the crowd.

Not that it wasn't allowed for girls to take part in the soccer club... but never in Kakashi's two years did a single girl join the team. He got one last look at her walk off the stage before she sat down disappearing in a crowd of uniforms. This sure was going to be an interesting day.

The chime rang; it was lunchtime.

"BOY I AM STARVING. Forgot your lunch Hatake? Hmph. No food for you." snorted Obito.

"Shut up Obito. You're always hungry." Kakashi said bluntly.

"What did you say Bakakashi?"

"FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT! UNLEASH THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH!" Gai exclaimed chanting.

"All of you are such a pain..." Asuma groaned.

The only 4 second year boys in the soccer club sat in a circle every lunch in the classroom. And as usual, Kakashi was surrounded by a paparazzi of fangirls wanting a peek at his face.

Out of the crowd of girls Kakashi caught sight of Anko sitting alone in the back of the class. She had already made her enemies, and was already being called "weird" or "boyish" when she threatened to beat people up. He had to admit she was pretty darn scary when she was threatening people. But looking at her now as she smiled outside the window looking at 1st years playing on the soccer field...

"Oi. KakaBaka. You're staring." Obito snickered.

"Shut it." Kakashi said. He was so glad he was wearing a mask. What had gotten into him? Sighing, he returned to his desk as the chime signaled the end of lunch.

* * *

I feel like I'm progressing way too fast. Or, at least I feel as if I'm not writing into this as much as I should be. Review please! Suggestions?


	3. Work of Art

Kakashi panted, crouched on the ground near the storage room as practice neared its end at 5:30. Gai stood next to him, gleaming with joy as he gave thumbs up having beaten him to the finish line. It was as if simply beating Kakashi gave him vitality.

"Looks like our 432th rival challenge goes to me, Kakashi!"

Running 70 laps of the grounds had taken almost the whole 2 hours of practice. He made a mental check to _never_ ditch practice for work again. Or else he would face at least 150 laps the next time. Perhaps worse knowing Captain Shisui, Kakashi thought, shuddering at the prospect.

He wearily watched as Anko and the first years moved the goals back to the storage. Despite all the enemy's Anko had made with the girls and boys in her class, she seemed to get along with the rambunctious and sometimes stupid little first year students. Not to mention she was an amazing soccer player.

As Kakashi had jogged his laps around the grounds, he caught glimpses of Anko weaving through players and dribbling carefree around in the small-sided game. Perhaps she was not as great passer as Kakashi was, but she had her own self-focused talents. Nobody had really expected that much of her. But now she'd gained everyone's respect, including Kakashi's.

"Oi Hatake your doing ground-cleaning yourself today. Make sure to flatten _AND_ brush. Alright everyone, practice is over!" Shisui said as he dismissed the team as everyone lined up to thank the captain. Kakashi sat up, now half recovered from his 70 laps of hell.

"Oi Bakakashi. Wanna head to the MajiBurger later? Asuma and Gai are coming too." Kakashi heard Obito call as his goggle-wearing friend was about to leave the field. Kakashi knew it was a sincere invitation. Obito of all his friends knew most about Kakashi's hardship as an under-age worker, and couldn't help but show his sympathy time to time. He was truly touched.

"Sorry Obito but I'm busy today." Kakashi replied, "Besides, I wouldn't want to be seen with you when you deplete the whole hamburger supply." He couldn't help but add in a snarky comeback.

"Hmph. See ya round Baaaka!" Obito replied. The two acted like they hated each other. They acted like they didn't get each other, and didn't care at all. But, he understood Kakashi's response completely.

Kakashi sighed as the last of the soccer players biked out the front gates leaving him alone to flatten the large field. Grabbing a metal flattener, he dragged it slowly over the ground starting in a large circle. Honestly he didn't dislike flattening the field at all. It was almost mind relaxing. Especially on a day after the rain, the sandy ground cleanly flattened from the pressure of the flatteners. And it was a beautiful sunset. Just the right tint of yellow and orange mixed together, but no fiery, angry hot red.

"You don't seem like the type of guy to watch sunsets." called a familiar mischievous voice.

Kakashi whirled around to see his purple haired companion dragging the only other brush behind him.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm here to help. I kind of owe you for that bike ride you gave me this morning."

"I don't need your help. And you don't owe me anything. This is my fault for skipping practice."

"Hey are you that eager to get rid of me?" Anko gasped hand over her heart, running up playfully behind him.

"No... it's just..." Kakashi sighed. Girls were so difficult.

"Nah, I'm messing with ya." Anko laughed as Kakashi struggled to come up with words to soften the situation.

The two dragged their tools in silence for a few minutes. This time Kakashi decided to break the ice.

"Saw you playing soccer today. You're not half bad."

"Yeah. I used to play street soccer a lot with kids in my... neighborhood.

"So... what school did you used to go to?"

"Actually... I was living at a charity home. But I'm of age now to live alone, so you know, why not right?" Anko replied lightly, but shifting noticeably uncomfortably.

"Charity home?"  
"You know... like an orphanage." Anko said looking down.

Kakashi's eyes widened as he turned. _So we're the same_ he thought. He'd sensed it before. He could see it in her pale brown, _vulnerable_ eyes.

"...So what do you do for a living?" Kakashi asked trying to switch gears.

"Well the orphanage provides me financial aid, since I'm still technically a minor."

Kakashi could've taken that route too. But stubborn as he was, living in a rural area of Japan he managed to keep his parentless background under cover. He didn't want his freedom restricted at an orphanage; he didn't want to be treated differently from anyone else. After all, he once had the parents that many of his peers did today; he just didn't want to give that life up.

"I guess you're ... by yourself too huh?" Anko asked, shaking Kakashi out of his thoughts. She was careful to avoid the word _orphan_.

"Well... in a way yeah" Kakashi replied, knowing all well what she meant.

The two finally finished groundwork and locked the tools up in the storage room.

Running a hand through his unkempt silver hair, Kakashi made his way to his bike, Anko not far behind him.

"Want another bike home?" Kakashi asked lazily.

"Uhh... about that..." Anko scratched the back of her head as she remembered the... thrilling (to put it nicely) experience she had in the morning.

"I'll go carefully." Kakashi added more softly. Anko smiled trustingly as she got on the back of his bike.

Kakashi biked through the streets away from Nishigawa Middle School. Now that they weren't biking at 40 mph, Anko could tell Kakashi did this often. The smoothness in how he turned the sharpest corners and the ease in which he weaved through cars stuck in traffic showed how experienced he was. It was a Friday evening, and the shops were as bright as ever.

"Kakashi! Would you like to stop by for some of today's special ramen? Come with that girlfriend of yours and I'll cut the price in half!" invited the old man at Ichiraku.

"I would love to ojii-san but I'm a bit busy today! And she's not my girlfriend..." he flushed at the last part as he waved goodbye.

The old man watched as the two youngsters biked off. _Busy indeed_ he thought to himself chuckling.

"So where's your house anyway?" Kakashi asked loudly over the sound of honking cars.

"Can you just drop me off at Harbor's Crafts?" Anko shouted back.

"No problem that's my stop." Kakashi called as he biked them into the parking lot at Harbor's. "You sure like this shabby shop huh?" Kakashi chuckled as he creaked open the wooden door.

"Kakashi-kun you're so late! You had me worried!" Rin greeted him. She was standing relieved at the cash register.

"Yeah... let's just say skipping practice wasn't the greatest idea."  
"Who's your friend there?" Rin asked as she peeked at Anko who was standing awkwardly behind Kakashi.

"Right. This is Anko, Rin. Anko, this is Rin." Kakashi tried to introduce the two with his very limited knowledge of manners/social correctness.

Kakashi started to make his way to the wood room but stopped. Turning back to Anko he asked, "Hey, you've probably already seen every inch of this store. You want to see the "wood room"? I'm sure Minato will be fine with it." he added, more to Rin than to Anko.

"...Sure." Anko replied hesitantly as she followed Kakashi through the back door.

Rin watched the two sadly as Kakashi led Anko into the room. Kakashi was never _that_ open with her. How had this girl who'd appeared randomly one day at school managed to get Kakashi out of his shell so easily? Rin and not to mention Obito had known Kakashi even before his father had died. And yet ever since that incident neither of the two was as close with Kakashi that they once used to be.

"So this is the mighty wood room. On this shelf I have just blocks ready for carving. Right, and here I have a bunch of mess ups. And here of course are things in progress, unfinished, uncrafted, un...discovered." Kakashi said almost fondly as he familiarized Anko with the small yet homey warm room. Anko stared at the wooden shelves. At this point, none of the crafts were coated or smoothed out. There were still ragged splinters hanging out of some of the dogs on the "unfinished" shelf. There were cracks in snakes in "mess-up" shelf, along with about 10 different types of wood blocks lined up neatly ready for use.

"Hey you came all the way here, I might as well make you a take-home gift." Kakashi offered. "It's the least I can do after you wasted time helping me do chores for the team." Kakashi said referring to the field-flattening.

"No no, it's fine. Besides I can't..." Anko said, trailing off.

"It's all on me. No cash. And you don't _owe_ me anything." Kakashi said reassuringly.

Anko nodded, a small eager smile forming on her lips at the prospect of actually seeing one of the beauties in harbor's crafts being made.

"Alright then." Kakashi said, smiling with his eyes above his flu mask: one of his rare expressions of emotion.

Grabbing a small block of wood, he first began hacking to get a general shape of the object he wanted. He used a large, relatively bigger knife for this. Anko grabbed a seat in the far corner of the room as she watched the silver haired teen immerse himself in the process. Soon, Kakashi grabbed a small medium sized knife to start making 2 rings around what was now a cylindrical inch long piece of wood. Finally, he pulled his father's white detail knife from his back pocket. Spinning it in his hand, he gazed at it fondly. Anko could see the passion in his dark telling eyes as he began to make precise, small cuts in the cylinder. She rested her head on her right hand as she watched Kakashi work away at the wooden cylinder. She loved the intent look on his face when he got to a tricky cut, and the way he relaxed with satisfaction when he succeeded. But mostly she loved how much his eyes could tell. His eyes told more than any fake laughs or words of comfort would. Because she knew that they wouldn't lie and couldn't lie. She could watch him do this for hours; for once she was satisfied just being in the audience and not an actor on the stage. But finally, Kakashi made a hole through the top of the now wooden cylinder made of 3 beads. He looped a small piece of rope through the hole, tying it at the ends to make what looked like a necklace.

"Here. Just a small necklace." Kakashi handed it to Anko.

"You shouldn't have." Anko laughed as she took the necklace, gladly putting it on.

"It's the least I could've done." Kakashi reminded her. "I mean it is a Friday, and what's better for cooling down than a bit of wood working?" he said sinking down in his small chair.

There was an awkward silence as Anko put on the necklace, gripping the pendant tight as if trying to protect it from anything trying to take it away from her.

"Well, I guess I'll take my leave then. And thanks a ton for showing me around today" Anko said smiling as she walked to the door.

"See ya." Kakashi waved lazily as usual.

 _Just a necklace?_ Anko thought laughing to herself as she gave one last goodbye. _It was a work of art._

* * *

Moments later Rin entered the wood room.

"You and Anko-san have grown pretty close huh." Rin asked quietly.

"Not really. It's the least I can do for someone who's just come into town." Kakashi said ignoring the fact that Rin was clearly hurt at the sudden development.

"Rin you can go home now. I'll stay at the cash register until your shift ends... 7:30 right?" Kakashi added more kindly.

Rin just nodded sadly as she left quietly with a quick "thanks".

Kakashi exhaled. Girls were really complicated.

* * *

Haha Anko's got some competition! Please review. Cheesy buildup I know.


	4. Could Get Used to This

Thanks everyone so much for the wait. Unfortunately, I'm a bit in a writer's block. Don't worry I'm not the type of person to leave something unfinished. But I still need inspiration so it might take another week or so for my next update.

* * *

Lunchtime. Bingo. Nothing better than an eating break from school on a Monday.

Right as he was about to join his usual loser gang, he caught sight of Anko sitting under a tree through the window. _Why not_. He started downstairs, out onto the sandy grounds eager to reach the shade.

"Oi Kaka... shi..." Gai started to invite him only to realize that his eternal rival had already raced down the stairs.

"What's up with him?" Asuma wondered.

Obito stayed quiet, glancing at Rin in the other classroom who had also witnessed the scene. He knew what was going on.

 _Bakakashi... you can get all the great grades you want. You can beat me in every test. But if you're so smart then why can't you what I see?_

What did Kakashi see in Mitarashi anyway. All Obito could see was that Rin, his crush of a lifetime, was breaking down over the two. And all he could do was watch.

"Yo. Kid." Kakashi called, walking over. He was pleased to see she was still wearing the necklace. "You're wearing it." he said referring to the pendant.

Anko looked up, "It would be rude if I didn't. And I'm not 'Yo. Kid'. I'm Anko! Go away!" Anko retorted as she threw some sand at him playfully.

Secretly she was glad he'd decided to spend his lunch with her. The weekend for her was boring as hell. Heck she didn't know any of the neighbors in her new apartment house yet, and didn't expect any them to be younger than 40. She wanted all weekend to go to Harbor's crafts. But she'd already seen every nook and cranny of the shop; Kakashi had even shown her behind the scenes. And she'd of course wanted to see her masked friend (although she would never admit it). But she definitely wasn't ready to show up at the shop without an excuse.

Kakashi sat down as he began to open the small bento box he'd made himself out of wood. Anko suddenly realized what she was about to witness. For the week she'd known him, she hadn't had a single peek at his face. She stared intently at his white flu mask as he began to peel it down. Kakashi didn't seem to notice.

Out of nowhere, a flock of what seemed like a thousand chirping birds erupted from the tree above the two. Anko momentarily distracted glanced upwards. When she whirled back, Kakashi's mask was right where it had been before. Only...

 _Wha-what?!_ His lunch was completely finished.

"Something wrong?" Kakashi asked innocently as he saw her staring unbelieving mouth open slightly.

 _D-Damn him_ Anko thought as she turned red in her failed attempt to catch a glimpse of her friend's stupid face.

Kakashi broke into bark-like laughter. It was the first time he'd been so open around her. Even with his mask, his eyes once again told more than fake smiles and tongues ever could. They crinkled, smiling by themselves; it was almost sweet.

"S-Stop laughing!" Anko managed, but it was only a half-hearted command. Who was she kidding. She could watch him like this forever. _I could get used to this..._

she thought. Soon they were both sucked into nonstop laughter. Birds began to settle back on the tree above them.

 _"_ Hey what in Kami did you _do_ to yourself?" Anko exclaimed suddenly as she noticed Kakashi's calloused, splintered hands. To her, his hands looked like a freakshow.

Kakashi blinked his laughter finally dying down. Looking down, he realized his hands had gotten so much worse over the past month. Ever since he started carving wood, he would hardly realize the splinters he got. He took them as a given: as an integral part of carving. They came out as new skin grew anyway. He just shrugged it off.

"Worker got to do what he got to do." Kakashi said responsibly. Truthfully he was just too lazy to care.

"You idiot... come over her." Anko shook her head as she grabbed his right hand pulling him closer to her under the tree.

"H-Hey..."

 _This is a complete mess!_ , Anko thought to herself as she grasped his larger hand. For a moment, she just clung onto his hand, unsure of what to do now. _Wait_. She had an idea. Her eyes glinted mischievously. Kakashi seeing this, gulped. Slowly, she tightened her grip on Kakashi's wrist. "Being the angel I am, I'll do you a favor! Friends have to do what friends have to do!" Anko said cheerfully mimicking Kakashi's line. "Now, this might hurt a bit~" She sang evilly as she ruthlessly plucked a small splinter out.

"YOU ARE _ANYTHING_ BUT AN ANGEL. AGHH" Kakashi writhed in pain.

"Is the great Hatake Kakashi actually in pain? I didn't know he could _feel_ in the first place!" Anko gasped in fake astonishment, grinning internally as she plucked another splinter. _Payback for your stupid mask Kakashi._ For the next perhaps 20 splinters, you could hear Kakashi's pained grunt followed by Anko's sarcastic cooing under the small cedar tree.

The chime rang signaling the end of lunch.

Kakashi almost collapsed with relief. Saved by the bell. Literally, he thought. Picking up his Bento box, he noticed how much easier it had gotten with the splinters out of his hands. _I could get used to this_... he thought, smirking at the sight of his purple-haired friend running back to class.

* * *

It was one of the hottest days of the summer. Even with the rural woods, the heat was unbearable. The extra long Monday practice left everyone on the soccer team soaking sweat pools. They were literally making new puddles on the sandy soccer ground.

As Shisui rounded the team up, everyone was relieved that he was finally calling it a day.

Kakashi personally never enjoyed practice in particular; heck he didn't even enjoy soccer. He only joined the club in his 1st year because Gai and Obito insisted that he and Asuma join them. He'd also assumed practices were slack judging by how much the team sucked last year. Boy was he wrong.

In any case, Kakashi was never the practice stickler that, say, Gai was.

Today's practice was his first practice with Anko. And it turned out to be... fun.

 _Fun_ Kakashi thought, zoning out as Shisui explained to the team about the week's practice schedule. It was a word he'd forgotten since his father had died. He'd forgotten any purpose to enjoying life whatsoever. The closest thing he'd gotten to the fluffy feeling now was the satisfaction he found in carving. That was the only thing that kept him driving.

But you just couldn't help but have fun around Anko. She had an effect on the entire team. And he couldn't help but thank god for this girl who'd mysteriously appeared one day into his unfortunate life. It was like she'd reopened a door, inviting Kakashi back into the world he once knew before his loneliness.

"Got that Hatake?" Shisui eyed him shaking him out of his thoughts.

"Hai." Kakashi nodded confidently, as if he'd heard every detail of the week's practice menu. "Not" he whispered inaudibly under his mask.

"Good." Shisui said, oblivious to Kakashi's bluff. "Alright everyone. Practice is over. Let's get outta here."

* * *

Anko almost stumbled down the stairs to the bike rack as she rolled her socks down to her ankles, chucking her guards in her pack. She almost lurched forward, and she could feel her calves on the verge of a cramp. She may have put a little too much energy into practice today. _Mental check: it's practice not the freaking Olympics_ she scolded herself.

Another lurch. Uh oh. Her face was going to have a date with the rock hard pavement.

Or not.

Surprised, she found herself still upright. Well, upright on Kakashi's back, her face buried in the back of his spiky silver hair. Wrinkling her small nose, she took a deep breath of his scent. _Dog? And definitely soap. No deodorant thank goodness..._ Anko thought to herself.

"How much clumsier can you get, tripping on air like that?" Kakashi teased her softly, as he piggybacked her towards his bike.

"Do you _need_ a few more splinters pulled out of those excuses of hands?"  
"Do you _want_ to lose a free bike-ride home?"

She was too tired to argue back, exhausted beyond belief. She could really use a ride home. Kakashi mounted his bike, gently helping her onto the backseat.

He biked through the all-too familiar roads, winding through honking cars, breeze flowing through his gravity-defying silver hair. Anko didn't miss a detail.

 _I really could get used to this..._

She leaned her head sideways on Kakashi's back, getting another breath of his comforting scent. She tensed, just praying he wouldn't object, jump, or push her off.

He didn't.

She relaxed, her purple hair pressing against his white polo.

 _I just hope this lasts_ were Anko's last thoughts as she drifted into deep trusting sleep.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed and please, please review guys. I need some inspiration (as in, ideas/feedback, not just praise :D).


	5. Into the Storm

_Thanks first to everyone who's kept reading my story. I'd like to say that I might be editing this chapter a bit or entirely for that matter. I'm still not entirely sure where to take this story, so please bear with me if I make any updates to this current chapter to improve the flow for proceeding chapters/overall plotline. I also know this chapter is damn cheesy, but again, please bear with me. Without further adieu, here's chapter 5!_

 _KM_

* * *

 _Dog?_ This time definitely. _Soap?_ This time, not so much. Anko wrinkled her small nose at the pungent smell of canine surrounding her. Slowly she opened her half-lidded thistle-colored eyes to the sound of pattering rain on the low ceiling seemingly right above her head. She had entangled her in a mess of blankets and sheets covering on a small softwood bed. Next to her was a small hand-made counter, still raw with splinters sticking out. On top sat a cheap aluminum alarm clock, and a few framed pictures. The necklace Kakashi had made for her was also sitting on the counter, neatly rolled up. It was homey, warm, and she was just about to fall back into welcoming sleep. A drop of water leaked through a crack in the ceiling, landing straight on her forehead. It gave her a striking realization. Wait a second.

 _What the hell, where am I_? Anko jolted up understanding that this wasn't her apartment. _Damn... what happened yesterday anyway_...

Right. She had fallen asleep pathetically like a damsel in distress. To make it worse, right on top of Kakashi. She turned a deep shade of red recalling the sequence of events from Kakashi catching her from an embarrassing fall, to his noble effort to bike her home. Obviously he hadn't succeeded. He must've taken her to his house after she'd... fallen asleep... on his freaking back.

 _I feel like I'm in some sappy romance novel_ Anko thought as she groaned. Her normally messy ponytail was even more fanned and spiked out due to her incessant tossing-and-turning sleep habit. Unskilled in the arts of hair management, she clumsily tried to flatten out her bedhead. It was fruitless. _Hell, why do I give a damn?_ She sank back down on her pillow, all the while turning her head back to the cheap old aluminum clock on the counter next to her.

"Aw crap!" Anko exclaimed looking at the clock. It was already freaking 10:30! And it was a Tuesday; couldn't be better. Goddamnit it was a freaking school day. She hated being late. Boy was she going to get it. She could just imagine her masked-friend's amused eyes as she would arrive almost 3 hours late, bedhead and all.

 _That asshat! He could've at least tried to wake me up!_ Anko thought furiously hurriedly throwing off the comfort of her dog-piss-tainted blanket. Slinging on her backpack, which was laying on the side of the bed, she started to scramble towards the door. _Out the door and straight to school!_ Anko thought to herself. She ran out the bedroom door into the small corridor towards the front door only to ram into her silver-haired friend. Anko losing balance, somehow managed somewhat to stop herself from collapsing onto those strong welcoming arms... Looking to the sprawling figure next to her, she took in the familiar sight of silver hair, grey eyes, and... the flu mask. _He wears that thing in his own freaking house?!_

"Jesus Anko watch where you're going." Kakashi complained, clearly annoyed.

"Watch where you're standing" Anko yelled back. "Ass" she added along with a stuck out tongue. "Agh more importantly" Anko scrambled back up as she recalled the urgent necessity to get to school as soon as possible. "Kakashi-why-are-you-even-here-we-have-to-get-to-school-it's-already-10:30-why-the-hell-didn't-you-wake-me-up?!" she exclaimed in one breath.

To her annoyance, Kakashi stared at her with dead eyes, as he slowly tried to process the mass of words.

"Come on hurry the hell up we don't have all day!" Anko continued, not wanting to miss another second of school.

"One, is that any way for a girl to talk to his Knight savior?" Kakashi drawled, relishing Anko's tomato-red (a mix between anger/embarrassment) face. Anko balled her fists childishly.

"Shut up! We need to-"

"And two, if you would care to listen, there's a typhoon warning out." Kakashi interjected. I'm sure you're in a hurry to get to school. Why don't you go take a walk outside? It's a free ticket to get gusted to China." He gestured to the howling winds outside the foggy window in the small apartment. "...Meaning, school's cancelled." he smiled matter-of-factly under his flu mask.

It took a bit for Anko to process this.

"Typhoon. No school. Can't go outside?" Anko stared blankly. Kakashi nodded. "Stuck in your house?" Anko asked, still puzzled. Kakashi nodded again, eyes twinkling with amusement.

Ah. Shit. Anko groaned. The truth hurt. "Great. Kami what have I done to deserve incarceration with this ass?" Anko sighed as she plopped back down on the bed, all previous tension wearing away.

Kakashi laughed heartily and loudly at his sulking friend. Although, he did feel a small twinge of sadness that perhaps maybe, Anko really didn't enjoy his company: that she really wanted to hitch hike outta his place. But then again, you never really knew with Anko. She was always joking and chalk full of sarcasm. That's what he liked about her, uh, as a friend of course. Not so serious about anything, whether it was grades, romance, or work. Still, one thing was for sure. She definitely was a hell of a lot more open with him now.

Kakashi's peels of laughter began to die down, only to revitalize upon the sound of Anko's growling stomach.

"Hungry?" Kakashi managed through his laughter.

"As if!" Another moan from her stomach. _Will you shut the hell up?!_ Anko thought giving her stomach a loud slap. Her stomach's response: another groan.

"You're stomach tells me otherwise. Lucky for you I'm the best cook in town! 1 sunnyside up comin up!" Kakashi said proudly.

Warily, she followed him back to the bedroom, plopping on the softwood bed. For some reason Anko _highly_ doubted that Kakashi's cooking would be anything satisfactory as he made his way to the small kitchen in the corner of the bedroom.

But watching him, he proved her wrong: as he poured the veggy oil, as he cracked an egg, and as he carefully maked sure that no shells got into the pan. He had the same look in his eye that he had when he was carving something. There was just an intensity about him whenever he really got into making something. It was one of the things that had her constantly staring at him. Annoyed at these girly thoughts, Anko turned away.

 _Snap out of it. You know better than to make the same mistake twice..._ Anko thought sadly to herself. The pain that came from heartbreak was just not worth it. _She_ knew that all too well. Anko tried to focus her eyes on her lap, keeping them from wandering over to the person she couldn't get out of her head.

"Hey. Are you going to eat? Cuz if you aren't I woudn't mind having another one of my perfect beautiful eggs." Kakashi added jokingly. Despite all this he could see that she was muddling over something. The way her thistle eyes avoided his gray ones was just way too obvious. Hiding something as always.

"Ha! You call this junk perfect?" Anko laughed, her normal sass returning.

 _Well she could act_ Kakashi thought, eyebrow raised. _Whatever_. It wasn't like he was the type of guy to go dissecting personal lives. Girls needed space. He got enough of that from his books.

Anko meanwhile was chowing down, all thoughts about her feelings already forgotten. _Damn that freak is even good at cooking! What can't he do?_ Anko thought to herself as she basked in the glory of Kakashi's perfect egg (as weird as it sounds). Suddenly, she looked up, staring pointedly, intently, examining Kakashi top to bottom. Narrowing her thistle eyes, she scanned him all over like she was checking for terrorists in airports.

"Hey... kid...What's your problem..." Kakashi said, uncomfortably backing away. Anko hopped towards him innocently, grinning devilishly. She stuck her face up in his; their noses were practically touching.

"Noooothing~" She sang. She clasped her hands behind her purple t-shirt. "Just thought you'd make... ya know... just thought you'd be a reaallly good dad." she said. Kakashi stumbled back at her sudden comment. She was still smirking at the image of Kakashi cradling a baby in his hands as he cooked up one of his specialty eggs, when she saw him turn a deep shade of red. "What." Anko said, slightly annoyed that she wasn't getting what he was getting at.

Did she mean something with him being a _dad_? Calm _down hormones. Calm the hell down._ Kakashi thought to himself intrinsically, trying to get the thoughts of his icha icha series out of his head.

" Uh..Uhmm..." he managed.

Anko realizing what she had implied, smacked him on the head, shaking Kakashi out of his good-for-nothing thoughts. "You little perve!" she said, storming back down to the bed across the room, childishly balling her fists as she stared in the opposite direction towards Kakashi's handmade counter.

"Anko hey, you know I didn't mean..." Kakashi said half-laughing at her childish outburst. But Anko wasn't listening. She was staring at the photo on the counter. She hadn't had a chance to see it before, since she was in a rush to get to school, but now it caught her attention. It was an old photo, blurred as if taken from a cheap cell phone front facing camera. Expanded to meet the frame size, it was almost pixelated. Despite the blurry contrast you could make out Kakashi, _still_ wearing his typical facial mask. He looked about 7 years old. Next to him was a crouching man; well at least part of one. All that was left was the lower torso of the man with his left hand placed lovingly on the 7-year-old's shoulder. His face wasn't shown in the photo. It had been ripped out: and not gently by the looks of it.

Anko started her thistle eyes still fixed on the partly torn photo. Finally, her brown eyes turned, focusing in questioningly on her silver-haired friend.

"Hmm?" Kakashi said with unusual energy. He was acting. It was beyond obvious to Anko, the one who had acted happy, energetic, and bubbly, for the past decade of her life. He obviously had his secrets; she had hers. And she knew they weren't quite ready to get out of their shells.

"Nothing..." Anko replied understandingly.

There was an unspoken agreement as thistle eyes met grey ones as they both turned to stare out the window. At was already noon. The winds hadn't gotten any better. If anything they were howling louder than they had been in the morning. Rain attacked the cloudy glass of Kakashi's apartment like led bullets: the normally ever-peaceful rice fields attacked by a kamikaze of droplets.

"Shisui must be cursing the heavens right about now for stealing his "precious soccer practice"" Kakashi chuckled, barely a decibel above a whisper, still managing to break the awkward silence.

"And Uchiha must be cursing the heavens for stopping him from emptying another restaurant's food supply." Anko replied back quietly, lacking her usual sarcastic tone. And suddenly another crazy idea popped in her head.

"Kakashi?"

"What's up?"

"You have to promise me you won't think I'm insane." Anko pressed on.

"I promise."

"Can we go to Harbor's Crafts... together?"

"You're insane."

"Hey!" Anko punched him playfully. "You promised!" For some reason her voice lacked the usual life and vitality that it was normally dripping with.

"No seriously though that's ridiculous. You think I'm putting myself through that hell? Take a look outside; you can go ahead. Here I'll even get you the keys." Kakashi said rummaging through his pockets.

"Whaatttt? Is my _braaave_ knight not up for the challenge? _Kakashi-sama_ you _haaave_ to help me~!" Anko cooed silkily. Kakashi immediately regretted ever giving her any ideas.

"Why you..." He could swear a vein popped.

"Come on. It'll be fun. Just... please." Anko said quietly looking down. And then Kakashi realized she wasn't kidding. She was probably hoping that he'd go with her, and by his own free will, happily. Honestly it almost scared him seeing her like this. It was usually her bright outgoing attitude that gave _him_ something to lean on. Now _he_ was the one who had to give _her_ something to depend on. Kakashi sighed, finally giving in.

"Why do I put myself through the trouble...Alright kid... let's go."

"Aw thanks Kashi-chaaaan!" Anko teased. Kakashi almost felt another vein pop. But over his annoyance at his stupid childhood nickname, he was just glad to see the cheerful Anko Mitarashi he knew back to her old self.

* * *

Grimacing, Kakashi opened his closet and grabbed the only tattered umbrella he owned, followed by a jumpy excited Anko.

"Yo." Kakashi warned, as he through back a clear poncho to Anko. "We only have one of those, and one umbrella. I'll take the umbrella, but no way that cheap bag is gonna keep you out of this storm so we better huddle up under this ol' girl." Kakashi said opening the old umbrella.

Anko hesitated. "Try anything and you'll be more worried about my fist than some stupid weather." she warned. Kakashi stared at her with his dead eyes, which greatly unnerved her.

"As if I would try anything on you."

"Wha! Am I not good enough for you?" Anko gasped, once again pulling off her specialty guilt-trap.

"No Anko it's just..." Kakashi struggled for the words.

"Naw... just messing with you." Anko laughed it off.

"This isn't going to end is it?" Kakashi said smiling, referring to the "moment" they had while flattening the soccer field a few days ago.

"Kakashi it's just _too_ fun to mess with you. I would be insane if I stopped!" She expected Kakashi's typical annoyed comeback. His typical rejection of her humor. His typical stony replies to her, using chick flick terms, wooing. Instead what she got was,

"Good." She looked up to his heartwarming crinkled smilling eyes almost immediately looking down. If she was a snowman she'd probably be melting right about now. "Ready?" He asked her as he grabbed the doorknob.

Anko nodded quietly still looking down, afraid he'd see that he had her flustered.

The door almost flew open upon unlocking the knob. Ridiculously strong winds almost peeled off Kakashi's face mask.

"Uhhh... Maybe this wasn't such a great idea..." Kakashi started immediately regretting succumbing to his purple haired companion.

"Don't chicken out on me now! My _braaaave_ knight!" Anko retorted, reminding him of his "knightly responsibilities".

The two stepped out into the weather of hell. Anko cuddled under Kakashi's umbrella, safe in her poncho. Meanwhile, Kakashi's clothes were already soaked. But she was right. _No turning back now_ Kakashi thought, still wondering how he'd gotten into this mess.

As the two trudged through the empty streets, the winds seemed to get less and less powerful. The rattling of the old umbrella became only a dull buzzing to their ears. It was as if their senses were numbing. It was as if the rain and winds were washing away their painful pasts. And for a few minutes until they reached the small tavern, they were two ordinary middle school students, blindly affectionate for each other, unscarred by the horrors of loneliness. All that was left was bare sincerity and compassion. But this wasn't a fairytail. And as Kakashi reached the door of Harbor's Crafts to unlock the door, they were dragged back into hard reality. They were orphans. And they'd deal with it.

And they'd made it. Kakashi was soaking wet, his normally gravity-defying hair matted down almost completely; Anko was only somewhat drenched by the raging gusts of nature. There was a telepathic understanding as the two went silently to the wood room, Anko right after Kakashi. Kakashi grabbed a block of wood. Anko retreated to the small chair in the corner of the room. It was peculiar. Watching Kakashi was the only time she was satisfied with just... well... _watching_. She always wanted to be up on stage, but with Kakashi she could just _relax_ and watch _him_ in action. They were there for hours, in wordless balance until the sun set outside. She couldn't remember when she fell asleep. But the last thing she did remember was watching her friend's soft satisfied eyes staring down at the complete wooden sculpture: a mass of whirling winds, a storm, a typhoon. And there were two small figures in the epicenter: in the peaceful eye of the hurricane. A boy wearing a small flu mask hand in hand with a girl with a spiky ponytail. Walking through the storm. Huddled under a tattered umbrella.

* * *

Don't worry. If I decide to make big/small changes to this, I will let you know in the next chapter so you can go back to this one. Sorry for the fickle-ness, but I'm hurrying with the ever-present threat of school business :O Sorry again for the complete cheesiness & please review cuz I've been needing some motivation lately. Stay tuned


	6. Principals and Offices

Hi everyone thanks for the patience!

As you may have seen on my profile due to vacation/fanfiction issues, my update was pretty delayed.

But alls well that ends well right? Chapter 6 is out so I hope you enjoy. Also I _might_ be drawing out some parts of the school and the geography of where Anko and Kakashi are living right now, and maybe a few scenes of them together. I'm as bad a drawer as I am a writer though so don't expect much lol. I have 1 drawing of the two up now, but none concerning this story, but you can check all that out from my profile (The link to my deviantart: same username)

* * *

She was tossing and turning. It was almost uncontrollable.

For the past ten minutes she'd been mumbling and it had only gotten worse.

"Mom... MOM..." was all Kakashi could make out of the incoherent words uttered from her soft lips. Her purple hair was drenched, half in sweat, half in typhoon rain, messier than ever. It was a nightmare. The incurable disease cursed upon heartbroken orphans. He knew it all too well as a child who'd grown up all too fast. He had to wake her up. He shook her.

"Anko"

She heard a soft voice, barely audible through the blinds of deep sleep.

"Anko!"

This time clearer. Her eyes snapped open to a dimly lit room. She was back in reality. Away from her mother... her past. She felt the familiarly out of place; the second time in two days. She was lying back in Kakashi's handmade softwood bed, the homey small counter and cheap aluminum clock beside her head. She saw Kakashi above her, who sat back relieved, tension draining from his shoulders. She looked away from him, unable to meet his eyes, unable to bring herself to just talked to him. Kakashi raised his eyebrows sighing inwardly. _Is she ever going to trust me?_ Still, he would respect her space. After all he really didn't want to hurt her.

"About time sleeping beauty." Kakashi remarked sarcastically attempting to move past her nightmare.

"Shush, I'm a growing girl. I need my sleep." Anko replied heartily, managing to put on her usual attitude. She half yawned as she stretched as she took in her surroundings. "How did we get back here?" Best change the subject.

"I carried you back... What." Kakashi asked at Anko's angry red face. "You were pretty heavy. A thank you would be nice." Kakashi added bluntly, earning himself a fist to the head. _Glad to have you back Anko._

It was still early morning judging from the still young daylight filling the small bedroom. The small cozy bedroom was engulfed in the warm light of morning.

 _Oh crapppp! Daylight! That means..._ Anko thought. She turned away from the sunny window with a horrified expression towards Kakashi.

"Yup. School's open today." Kakashi said knowingly, still smirking at Anko's dismal realization.

Anko grimaced. He was right. If the typhoon had still been out they probably wouldn't have been under a roof, much less would there have been warm daylight.

Anko sighed as she got up, stretching one last time to wake herself up.

 _Hell this is uncomfortable_. Her still wet clothes sticking to her like play-dough, accidentally muttering her thoughts out loud.

"Would you have preferred that I'd changed them for you?" Kakashi whispered to her ear jokingly. Anko slapped him. For some reason she was abnormally unnerved at the comment.

"You slap as hard as you punch. What was that for?" Kakashi muttered backing off, rubbing his cheek.

"Don't make jokes like that it's disgusting!"

"Unlike you, I happen to be mature for my age, _kid._ " Kakashi shot back playfully.

"Well I _am_ a kid, so _treat_ me like one you ingrate!"

"Right..." Kakashi trailed off, not knowing what else to say to appease her foul mood. Kakashi finally decided to break the silence. But Anko cut him off before he could say anything.

"I can walk to school today." She said quietly. "I know the way, thanks to your... crazy biking." She added in a lighter tone. Kakashi opened his mouth but closed it. As much as he wanted to say something, he _knew_ Anko needed space. He knew she was a hard person to get out of her shell, as was he. After all they both had their secrets. Kakashi got up, and Anko began to fold his sheets up neatly. Grabbing his bag Kakashi made his way to the front door.

"There's a towel in the counter next to the bed for your hair. I'm going to head on to work a bit at Harbor's and then head on to school. See you then." He called back, glancing back one last time at Anko's small frame before stepping outside towards his bike.

* * *

Anko sighed softly in her seat as math class finally came to a close. She stuffed the stacks of untouched Algebra drills in her backpack that she couldn't bring herself to work on during class. Her thoughts turned to the source of her distraction: the silver-haired boy sitting in the front right corner of the room. Even though she was sitting in the opposite corner of the shabby classroom on the 3rd floor of Nishigawa Middle School, that stupid silver hair didn't fail to keep her attention at bay.

All class she kept stealing glances at him from the back of the room, unable to finish even a single page of the drills due for the day. She felt a bit guilty. She'd told Kakashi out of his own house with out ever a single "thank you" for what he'd done. The two hadn't exchanged any words since the morning.

And at least for Anko, even though it had been only a few hours since she'd last talked to him, it felt like forever. She regretted every minute that passed after she'd denied Kakashi's offer to bike her to school. It almost pissed her off when he actually gathered the nerve to just ... leave!

Still, she knew couldn't afford the risk of affection or attachment. That was for sure. It had been years since she'd last had a nightmare like that. And she knew that the boy of her thoughts was the inevitable cause.

She'd liked a few boys at her orphanage before. Asked a few out here and there, but always rejected. They always ran away awkwardly like they were afraid of her. She was always left a bit heartbroken. She couldn't understand why Kakashi, presumably the most handsome kid in the school (according to his fangirls), would want to hang around her. Naturally she was still a bit distrusting. To top it off she knew the full effects of "star-struck" love: her parents... her mother, being an unfortunate victim.

She hated when Kakashi made suggesting jokes like he had in the morning about her clothes. She knew he was kidding around, but she couldn't help but remember the ugliness of her past. And today the memory of her foolish mother hit her like a piece of shrapnel. Anko refused suffer the same fate. But as much as she wanted to keep Kakashi at a distance, she still wanted him within reach. She didn't want to lose her only friend at her home or get too attached and suffer the consequences of heartbreak.

Little did Anko know, she wasn't the only one sneaking glances. Kakashi had managed to sneak a few glances back "at the clock" during the silent work period. _I really thought she'd be over it by now..._ Kakashi mused thoughtfully to himself. _I just hope I can help her. If she'd just open up a bit more... C'mon Anko!_

To be quite honest, as perverted as a middle school student could get, Kakashi for one didn't really care for Anko's... well... body. Not to say she wasn't attractive because hell she could be quite the looker at times. But it was the smallest, most insignificant things he liked about her. The way she wrinkled her small nose in confusion as she muddled over a math problem, and the way her eyes teared up a bit when she yawned loudly. She had a way of just lightening the mood in general when she wanted too, just like she'd make even the most annoying, tiresome soccer drills fun. And he didn't want to lose her at all costs. He clenched his fist. Whatever she was muddling over, he felt like it was _his_ responsibility to get her through it.

* * *

"Oi Mitarashi come on over! Let's break out for lunch!" Obito invited, stopping the purple-haired girl from walking out of the 2-B classroom. It was finally lunchtime.

Anko turned back to the group of boys in the soccer club dubbed "the loser squad" by the popular baseball jocks. Reluctantly, her eyes met Kakashi's. His eyes just smiled and somehow nodded as if to ease her on.

Smiling, Anko sat down in a chair next to the desk the guys were huddled over.

"Aboutch chime cuzh we _are_ on zhe schame shoccer tcheam, right mitarachi?" Obito noted as he gleefully stuffed his mouth with sausages.

At first it was, to put it nicely, awkward. She was the one girl sitting with a group of four boys. To make it worse she had eyes drilling into her from the fan girls surrounding Kakashi as if she were committing a crime.

Thankfully, Gai came in to save the day.

"My fangirls! Thank you, thank you for coming together once again to witness my springtime of youth!" he exclaimed as the majority of Kakashi's admirers ran off screaming. As if to make a statement he flashed his abs with a shining grin, managing to shoo off the remaining extra loyal ones. As annoying of a teammate Gai could be, Asuma, Kakashi, Obito, and, in this particular situation, Anko were definitely grateful for his... talents.

With the nuisances gone the four boys began their daily drabbles (careful not to get too out of hand with the presence of the dangerous purple-haired vixen). Anko was content with listening at first, but soon became immersed in the conversation herself.

"And like Shisui would let _you_ of all people take a PK!" Anko laughed hysterically at Obito's flamboyant claims.

"Oh yeah? Last year I scored a winning 90th minute goal in the semi-finals; I'd watch who you're talking with—"

"Last time I checked you didn't even _play_ in the semi-finals last year Obito." Kakashi cut him off boredly.

"Nani? Bakakashi you don't know anything!" Obito fumed.

The 5 continued on, Kakashi and Asuma commenting in at times, while Obito, Anko, and Gai carried the conversation. Rin even came in at one point to join the conversation; after all it wasn't everyday she got a chance to see Kakashi talk so openly to everyone. _Anko Mitarashi... she really did work magic_ Rin thought sadly yet gratefully to herself.

But things were going all too well. Lunch began to come to a close as kids began stuffing their empty bento boxes back into their bags.

Then, 5 minutes before the bell, an administrator arrived at the door of classroom 2-B. The classroom fell silent as the staff member, followed by another sickly pale man in a suit, walked in, exchanging words with the homeroom teacher. Kakashi, internalizing all of this, turned worriedly towards Anko. He was shocked. Her face was beginning to lose it's normal color. Particularly, he noticed, as she watched the man in the suit. This mess was about her?

"Anko Mitarashi. Please come with us."

The words weighed heavily on Kakashi. He knew this wasn't some ordinary principal detention or anything of the sorts. Troublemakers like Obito were usually offhandedly called up by speaker to the office. It had to be something big. He turned and realized Anko wasn't moving. Her brown eyes were wide, almost fearful, her pupils contracted, completely paralyzed.

"Anko" He said softly and nudged her with his shoulder, shaking her out of her trance. She turned frantically to him, as if begging for him to tell the staff to get the hell out the classroom. Kakashi was shaken: almost scared of the Anko he'd never known. Realizing this, Anko smiled brightly, masking the ugliness beneath her joyful attitude, rising from her seat, for _him_. And it pained Kakashi that she forced herself to act so tough. He watched helplessly as Anko walked out, seemingly confidently, with the two men towards the principal's office 2 stories down.

He wondered if he'd made the biggest mistake of his life. He wondered if he should've probed her, asked her, and helped her with her troubles. _All I did was... sit there like a duck... damnit!_ He regretted not saying anything the entire day. Perhaps it was because he'd become so used to relying on her upbeat attitude to cheer himself up. Now _she_ was the one who needed his help.

Kakashi tightened his fist, angered at his own weakness. _I'm always hiding behind this mask... I'm sorry as hell Anko. But I promise I won't ever let you handle your burden all alone ever again. Ever._

* * *

Kakashi couldn't think. Anko hadn't been back for half an hour. That wasn't necessarily strange, he thought to calm himself down. Obito's record was an hour in the principal's office after he'd managed to change all the clocks in the school an hour late.

But they were the longest 30 minutes of his life. He stared blankly at his history notes, unable to comprehend a single line of the Kanji script. _What is this, English?_ He thought, trying to break through the distractions. Nothing was working. He couldn't get Anko's horrified expression out of his mind. He couldn't get the fact that he'd done nothing to help her out of his mind. He'd been so useless to her!

She finally walked in. Kakashi had to stop himself from running up and hugging her. Her face was expressionless, until she saw Kakashi, flashing him a sheepish smile. Alright. That was good news. It couldn't have been bad news, Kakashi tried to convince himself. But he couldn't get rid of the nagging unease that everything _wasn't_ ok: that _Anko_ wasn't ok: that he was repeating his mistake of not talking to her.

 _I need to talk with her._ He decided watching the purple-haired girl sit down comfortably in seat in the back of the room. _I need answers. I need her to trust me._

* * *

By the end of soccer practice the rumors were out. Everyone at Nishigawa loved to get in on school mishaps, especially principal detentions. That's how Obito "made a name for himself" at the school. He was practically a celebrity: renowned by all as the greatest prankster in the past decade. Anko Mitarashi. The name was buzzing around the school.

"Wasn't that the girl who joined just a week ago?"

"Man I knew she was scary but who would've thought she'd get it a week in?!"

"She might just beat Obito-senpai's record."

"Mmmmh... that's a long shot. Wouldn't count on it."

Even Captain Shisui, who proudly stayed out of gossip, was in on the story of Anko's "detention". The rumor had it that she'd forgotten to get to the past two doctor appointments and didn't have the required flu shots to attend the school.

It was believable. But Kakashi still didn't have answers, from _her_. He was practically dying to talk to her, but he hadn't been able to talk to her personally the entire day. He could've sworn she was even avoiding him when she disappeared to the security of the girl's bathroom after Life Science had ended.

He was thanking god when Shisui ended soccer practice early. Obito was sulking, complaining with Asuma and Gai at all the attention Anko was getting. Speaking of Anko, he saw the familiar purple tied up hair hurriedly sneaking off the soccer field towards the school gates.

 _Oh no you don't._ Kakashi thought grabbing his bags from the storage room. Not bothering to take off his cleats, he sprinted after her, his old spikes clanking on the cement. He caught up to her, putting a comforting hand on her small shoulder.

"Need a ride?" He'd take this slowly.

"Wouldn't hurt." Anko said gladly, yet strangely reluctantly.

They mounted his bike, which was parked at the shack near the gates. Kakashi pedaled them out the gates. He was surprised when he heard a painful sigh as he felt Anko's small warm figure press against his back. He felt her tense at first, but relax after realizing he wasn't going to push her off. It almost annoyed him. Because she _still_ didn't trust him. He supposed to be fair he'd only known her for a week... but to him it felt like they'd gone through so much more... as if they'd known each other since way back when.

"I'm not leaving you." He said. He knew how it sounded, but didn't mind. He did mean it after all. He wasn't really good with words, and as sappy as it sounded, it really summed it up.

"I know." Anko mumbled back.

"Anything you want to tell me?" He probed, hoping he'd managed to pry her out a bit.

"You've probably already heard. Unattended appointments. Medical conflictions with school policy."

"Who was the creepy pale joker in the suit?" Kakashi asked a bit bluntly. He felt her go rigid on his back, the warmth suddenly draining from her chest.

"Forget I said—" Kakashi began. He didn't want to hurt her; boy he was a coward.

"That was the owner of my orphanage, Dr. Orochimaru." Anko admitted shakily. Kakashi felt her shiver behind him at the mention of his name.

"What's the orphanage doing here?" Kakashi asked alarmed, through the blaring honks of cars.

"Well... the orphanage has to deal with my medical payments... so _of course_ they'd get involved silly." Anko replied reasonably, in attempt to calm Kakashi down.

"That makes sense..." Kakashi trailed off, more relaxed. Maybe he was just convincing himself it was ok. The two lapsed into silence again, content as the summer wind ran through their hair. The sun was starting to set, and the horizon was redder than ever.

"Hey Kakashi. Why do you... put yourself through all this... and like go through the trouble... just to... be around me?" Anko managed, blushing through her stutters. She hated how girly the question sounded, and her red face was _not_ helping.

Kakashi's eyes widened and he sure was glad Anko couldn't see his face at the moment. He thought about it.

"Well, you're an orphan just like me. You just came into town a week ago without any friends or family..." He started. _Ah to hell with it_. "You have a great attitude. You manage to make Shisui's spartan hell drills actually kind of fun. You're an honest, understanding person to talk to and..."

"And?"

"It doesn't hurt that you have the greatest, cutest smile I know." Kakashi admitted, grinning back at her. Anko didn't know what to say really. It wasn't often that someone praised her appearance, mostly because they couldn't see past her violent tomboy side. She was in a daze, at a lack of her usual sarcastic comebacks. Another lapse of silence. This time a bit more awkward after Kakashi's... so to speak, confession.

"Could you drop me off at my house?" Anko asked suddenly. Her words were tired and drained.

"No problem." Kakashi replied agreeing, wondering if he'd said the wrong things. Secretly he also was disappointed that he wouldn't have her company at Harbor's Crafts. "Just give me the directions."

They kept on heading down along Nishigawa River. Two blocks past Kakashi's neighborhood Anko told him to "make a left", and the two arrived in front of an apartment complex. It wasn't that big: a gray blocky building, 5 stories from the looks of it.

"Jesus Anko you lived this close the entire time?" Kakashi turned back to her, a bit annoyed that she hadn't told her any sooner. They dismounted the bike as Kakashi kicked down the bike stand.

"Didn't really feel like telling you. I'm not _looking_ for stalkers ya know." Anko laughed. Kakashi just stared at her with his customary dead eyes. Suddenly they gleamed in realization.

"Anko your house is closer to mine than mine is to Harbor's Crafts." Kakashi pointed out.

"Yeah. Definitely." Anko replied, her big brown eyes confused, not getting what he was getting at.

"And we walked _all the way_ to Harbor's from my house yesterday in the typhoon. Right?" Kakashi continued.

"Right! Glad you don't have short term memory loss captain obvious." Anko spat, starting to get annoyed.

"Well you could've walked home yesterday. I mean your place's only two blocks away." Kakashi stated simply as he watched her turn red. It was the cutest thing when Anko blushed like that. "You must've enjoyed my company." he stated gleefully.

"Ah Hatake don't flatter yourself." Anko waved him off, hiding her tomato-red face. They walked up the narrow stairs to the second floor of the building, Anko leading, Kakashi following. Anko almost tripped, but thankfully, Kakashi caught her by the wrist. He didn't let go as they made the rest of the way to her apartment.

"Kakashi?" She asked when they reached her door.

"Yeah?"

"Goodie. Thought you'd left me for a second there." Anko laughed quietly. Kakashi just smiled back, eyes crinkling knowingly, tightening his grip on her smaller yet warm hand.

"The wind's strong up here." Kakashi commented softly, as they stared off to the view of rural Japan.

"Damn straight." She whispered back.

"That ruined the moment." Kakashi complained, as Anko just burst out laughing at her blunt curse.

"Well thanks again for the ride. And thanks for all the hospitality. I... umm... kind of forgot to thank you for all that this morning." Anko shifted, embarrassed at her actions the morning of.

"Hey it was nothing. Call me over whenever you need me alright? I'm not leaving you." Kakashi reiterated, closing his left eye out of habit. It came out more awkwardly than he meant it to sound. _Yup. Not good with words_ he sighed inwardly as he felt Anko's hand tense at this.

He got one last look at those hazel eyes as the two let go of each other, exchanged goodbyes, and as Anko shut her door. He could've sworn there was a flash of worry. Had he not probed her enough? Had he repeated his mistake? He realized he'd been completely swept into Anko's pace. It was just too easy to enjoy her happy confident side. Realizing he'd messed up again, Kakashi walked down the stairs, silver-haired head hung, wondering how he could get ever her to trust him.

 _Next time... I **will** help you Anko._

On the other side of the door, the purple-haired girl smiled sadly to herself, as she childishly clutched the pendant he'd made for her. His words still rang clearly in her head. She wiped a tear frantically from her left eye, hitting herself in the process for being so helpless. She took off her shoes, collapsing on her small bed.

Staring up at the low, blank white ceiling, she hadn't forgotten a single detail in the cold Principal's office. It was incredible that there could be a room so frigid in such a warm and friendly place like Nishigawa. It was the first place she'd ever felt at home, all thanks to her silver-haired...protector... that seemed to fit the description.

She'd hoped she could have the chance to get used to her new life her. She'd die for it. And the Orochimaru-sama's heartless words came crashing back to her.

 _You have a month here, Anko._

* * *

Thanks for reading to the end. This was a long one. I do want to put some conflict in this story, so there will be some action. Although I do still want to focus on the romance/comfort/hurt, do expect there to be obstacles...

And Please please please review :)


	7. Lady-Repellent

Hello Everyone! Like school is damn tough lately! I'm managing to get bits of writing in, especially on the weekend, so sorry for the shorter chapter. But trust me this is a lead up. Still, I'm lacking a bit of motivation lately... should I continue, or is this story getting really lame. Is it just me?

Anyways, I've gotten into deviantart a lot.

I actually **drew a scene** from work of art! Haha I haven't drawn in so long, so I can tell you it was an interesting experience to say the least.

You can, again, check that out on my profile, or just look up kmriver as a user on deviantart, and you should be able to find me.

Thanks for the support everyone.

* * *

"Bakakashi even for you that was a record breaking break up bro. Like 2 weeks. Damn, you are really a lady-repellant." Obito commented, munching on an egg roll.

Kakashi silently flicked him a birdie. He didn't have the brainpower to deal with Obito's level of stupidity at the moment. He was too deep in thought.

"How could we "break up" if we weren't together to begin with?" Kakashi managed quietly, his eyes still drilling into his untouched lunch.

"Pshh! Please dude. The whole grade knows up with up with you two. Seriously though, what happened anyway Kakashi? One moment you two are flirting every second of the day andthen _bam_! She's not even talking to you anymore." Asuma asked, now a bit worried.

Kakashi knew that if he could ask anybody about girls it was Asuma, who'd dated a girl Kurenai in the 2-A class for the past 2 years of middle school. But he immediately put the thought aside. He didn't need anyone else besides Anko in his personal business. He'd sort this out with her personally.

 _Except... HOW do I talk to her personally?_ Kakashi groaned inwardly to himself. The past 2 days Anko had been ignoring his presence. Kakashi had tried _everything_. He'd tried to sit next to her at lunch, but upon seeing him she'd scampered off to another secluded place in the school. Yesterday she sat with Kakashi's fangirls: a hellzone Kakashi wouldn't dare to get close to. Hell she'd even left her house before _dawn_ so she wouldn't run into him on the way to school.

Kakashi stared outside the shabby window of classroom 2-B on the second floor, looking down at the purple haired girl, sitting alone below the cedar tree they'd shared their first lunch together at.

The temporary distance between them made Kakashi realize how attached he'd become to her. For the first time, he saw her tomboyish messy ponytail as beautiful. For the first time, he realized that he'd never seen prettier eyes than her chocolate brown orbs. And for the second time, Kakashi realized the hard truth that _he'd_ been leaning on Anko, when it should've been the other way around.

The fact of the matter was, he still had no clue as to why Anko was acting the way she was. He replayed the events before her sudden coldness. She'd left class for the principal's office. She started acting strange ever since. She seemed so fragile and broken afterwards. He'd dropped her off at her house.

And if anything was the problem, it was the principal Kakashi thought to himself. Kakashi wasn't stupid. Anko had obviously lied to him. But why was she suddenly ignoring him, as if she was angry at him? Was she just avoiding telling him the inevitable truth? What could be so bad anyway?

But as much as he muddled over these theoretical questions, he realized something. He didn't care. He didn't care _why_ she was acting the way she was.

As long as he could share every day with her and have fun with the Mitarashi Anko he thought he knew, he couldn't give a damn in the world about some stupid principal.

It was an unhealthy and idealistic mindset he'd come to adopt as a child, after his father's death. Who cared about society? So what if he was an orphan? He wouldn't live in some stupid orphanage. He would keep living the life he had for the past 7 years; it's not like his father had helped him anyway. He refused to be controlled by the sharp turns of life.

But this turn was different. He could control _his_ life. But he couldn't control Anko, the strong-willed, mighty Anko. _She_ had chose to break off of him, and Kakashi was completely helpless. He didn't hear the bell ring. His sensei's commanding words to put his lunch away were like drunk, incomprehensible slurs to his ears. The sharp smack of a ruler above his head brought him back to reality.

"Now _please_ Hatake-kun. Put. Away. Your. Lunch."

He complied silently, walking to the back of the class to stuff his untouched lunch back in his backpack. He pleadingly tried to catch Anko's eyes. But those vivacious brown orbs were locked on the math papers in front of her: empty and crushed.

* * *

"Oi Mitarashi Hatake's wide open!" Shisui called from goalpost, waving his keeper gloves madly at her. But Anko didn't listen. She began on a foolish dribble towards two 3rd year students. She scissored by the first one, leaving him in the dust. But her success was short-lived.

"Second years shouldn't be so arrogant!" The second defender called triumphantly, sliding in for a clear tackle. The ball flew out of bounds as Anko fell hard on the gravel. The team began to gather around.

"Mitarashi as bad of a player Bakakashi is, he was wide open. That was an easy goal if you'd passed just now." Obito said, giving her a hand. "You should lift your hea-"

Anko cut him off.

"You're 10 years too old to teach me soccer Uchiha." she said curtly, getting up and dusting herself off, spinning on her heel to go retrieve the ball.

"Wha-What did you say y-you?!" Obito exclaimed after her, lifting up his goggles and narrowing his eyes. "Oi Kakabaka what are you doing there like a sitting duck! Say something! You're the one who missed out on the goal!"

But Kakashi was too dumbfounded to say anything. That was _not_ the Anko Mitarashi he knew.

"Alright alright maggots! That's enough arguing! We're a team! Obito, that's no way to talk to a teammate. And Mitarashi come back here!" Shisui called. She complied sulkily. "Hatake was blatantly open for the pass. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"I was just too focused on dribbling. I didn't see him. Sorry... Hatake-kun..." She mumbled quietly.

Shisui stared for a second well aware of the tension between the two, but sighed, too tired to deal with the drama at the moment.

"Alright that's a day. Good job everyone. The tournament's next week, so everybody stay healthy, fit, and safe. Dismissed. Ah, Kakashi stay for a second."

Kakashi nodded, watching sadly as Anko quickly grabbed her bags and left without a word to anybody. As Asuma started by him, he paused, whispering to Kakashi,

"She called you Hatake-kun. That's worse than a friendzone dude. Best you get over her." Asuma told him knowingly.

"Thanks, but no thanks." Kakashi replied coldly, as Asuma shrugged, walking away with Obito and Gai. "So what's up captain?" Kakashi asked, looking up at the taller Shisui questioningly.

"Don't "what's up" me, you know completely what's up. You tell _me_ what's up with you and Mitarashi- and I don't mean break up details." Shisui added. Kakashi sighed inwardly; _not captain too..._

"I really haven't got a clue. And if I did know, I doubt I could do anything about it." Kakashi said honestly.

"Well you better do something about it before the tournament. We have a week left, and you and Mitarashi are the core of our offense this year. If she's not passing you for hell knows why, it's going to ruin our team chemistry. So figure it out." Shisui said strictly.

Kakashi nodded solemnly as he began to gather his bags and started down the stairs to the bike rack. "And good luck Hatake. I can tell Mitarashi really needs a kind person like you." Shisui added. Kakashi whirled around on the steps, but Shisui was already gone, leaving behind but some leaves in his place. They didn't call him the flash step goalkeeper for nothing.

* * *

Kakashi opened the creaky wooden door to Harbor's Crafts, still covered in sweat from the last intense practice of the week. _Thank god for Friday_ he thought to himself, wiping the beads of perspiration with a small handkerchief.

"Hey Kakashi-kun!" Rin greeted him cheerfully from the register. Kakashi looked up. Right. Lately he'd completely forgotten the presence of the second middle school worker at Harbor's. Rin had parents, unlike him. But like Obito they were low income, so she had to do all she could to support her family. He'd taught her how to carve when they were still younger, and she was pretty quick to catch on. Although really, one of the main reasons she decided to work at Harbor's was because Kakashi was too. It wasn't like she had any particular interest in woodcrafting; Rin was content at playing the friendly cash register.

"Hey Rin. Customer count?"

"None on my shift." Rin said sadly, looking down. "But then again there were probably more around midday, you know how the people around here are." Her voice sounded hopeful, but both knew that Minato probably hadn't had any customers either. The truth was this place was going down. It was only a matter of when.

"Kakashi-kun."

"Hmm?"

"If you were to lose your job here, where would you go?" Rin asked nervously. The question was a bit of a blunt jab to his stomach.

"I'd take rich tourist pictures for 500 yen per picture." Kakashi replied bitterly and unreasonably, but with light joking sarcasm in his voice.

"But there aren't even tourists around here..."

"I could move. I've been places... Tokyo, or maybe Kyoto..." Kakashi mused. Personally, he was enjoying his private joke.

"But you can't leave Kakashi-kun."

"Why can't I?" Kakashi asked, a bit annoyed at Rin now. "I've lived alone in more places than you can probably count."

"Well I know you _couldn't_ leave. Or at least you _shouldn't..._ " She looked at him suspiciously. "You wouldn't _want_ to would you? Not with... not with Anko-chan still here." Kakashi's eyes widened, realizing what Rin was implying. "I mean... she _needs_ you. I've... I've seen her. She's been really down lately, breaking down sometimes during lunch. She even was here earlier for a minute or two ... and I had to really help her calm down. She needs your help Kakashi; I think you're the only one who she'll ever open up to." Rin finished, more confidently than she'd started.

"Wha...She was here earlier...?" Kakashi asked dumbly, in a trance.

"Kakashi-kun!" Rin shook him firmly. Kakashi snapped back to her, still at a loss for words. "You _have_ to help her! Are you listening to me?" Kakashi managed to nod, his throat crackling dryly. "Good." Rin sighed, exhaling, tension leaving her voice.

The two were silent, as Rin turned her back to him. "Kakashi-kun. I know from experience you're a hard person to crack open. But Anko-chan managed to get you out of your shell in a matter of days. And if you're not going to return your feelings to me... well... at least return them for Anko-chan. She really... depends on you; I can see it in her eyes. So don't let her go so easily. I know you're a kind and caring person from the bottom of your heart. I'm always here for you." Rin had never made more sense to him. "And I'll take your crafting shift for today." Rin offered kindly, as he had to her a week ago. "You're going to need the time to find a way to get to her." She said, smiling.

Kakashi nodded, and bowed deeply, something he'd normally never do for anyone, including teachers. "Thank you so much Rin. I really owe you one." Kakashi said as he raised his head back up and raced out the door.

 _Just be careful about your feelings Kakashi-kun_ Rin thought to herself, catching a final glimpse of his spiky silver hair.

* * *

Kakashi kicked up his bikestand, jumping on his bike, for some reason eager to get home. It's not like he would be able to do anything, but he was somehow engulfed with determination in finding a "plan", as described by Rin and Shisui, to get Anko back. It had been a while since he'd biked home in the midst of daylight.

It had always been pitch dark, with the exception of the small, scattered lamps near the rice fields by the time his usual work shift had ended. He pedaled as quickly as possible towards his small shabby apartment building. Parking his bike in the shack, he raced up the stairs to the third floor of the building, grabbing his keys and wrenching the old door open. He was greeted by his slobbering trained pug, Pakkun.

"Whoa whoa there Pakkun. Easy!" Kakashi laughed, in unusually great spirits, collapsing on his softwood bed with Pakkun still glued to his mask. He felt like he had all the time in the world; off work, off school since it was a Friday. He hadn't felt so free in forever.

But where would he start. He still had no clue of how to talk to Anko, but he was determined it would happen over the weekend. He decided to start by cleaning out the mail. _Ideas are bound to come_ he thought to himself. Making his way back to the front door, he managed to pry open the old rusty metal box. About a thousand papers flew out: Nishigawa newsletters, letters from distant Hatake relatives who only cared about Kakashi's academic success, and other things that meant nothing to Kakashi. Kakashi sweatdropped, sorting through the pile of unchecked files, when something caught his eye. Wait. _This was sent this monday_... Kakashi mused to himself, picking up the paper. It was a weekly Nishigawa Middle School newsletter. He decided it was worth reading through since he had the time this wonderful Friday.

 _Congradulations to Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuuga Hizashi and Morino Ibiki for leading Nishigawa to the National Youth Japan Baseball Finals! Nishigawa finished strong in the semifinals in an overwhelming victory over Seirin Middle School. Please come support the team this weekend_.

The usual crap. Baseball jocks. Always getting attention. Kakashi moved on.

 _The annual Summer Matsuri's are here! With summer vacation approaching no better way to let go and have fun with your friends at these wonderful festivals!_

 _They will be held in the Otan district shrine on the following dates:..._

Otan district... that was relatively nearby. Kakashi and Obito had been there once to borrow books (yes, even these two did show some motivation) for a research project on Kyoto history. And there was one this weekend!

It was settled. Kakashi would find some way to get Anko to go to the Summer Matsuri with him. _Man this is so uncharacter of me..._ Kakashi sighed to himself. At least Obito and the crew would probably be there too. Only problem was how would he tell Anko? Kakashi thought for a bit, and then suddenly the answer came to him like ice. How hadn't he thought of it sooner? If he couldn't _talk_ to her he'd _write_ to her. _Write...great._ Kakashi grimaced at the thought of writing a sappy letter to a very un-sappy Anko. But he cut to the chase. The silver haired boy worked to the night, scrapping letter after letter when the wording didn't work out, his small trashcan filling up with crumpled papers. When he finally found an appropriate message, he fell back into his chair, satisfied with the effort he'd put in. He stared up at his blank ceiling. One thing left to do.

"Hey Pakkun." The small old pug trotted over joviously, tail wagging with pleasure, ready for his first job in 7 years. "Remember that girl I told you to hide from at my house the other day? ... Yes Pakkun the one I "slobber" over. Can you deliver this to her house? It's just 2 blocks down, and her door is on the second floor of the building. You'll know from her scent I'm sure." Kakashi conversed, seemingly one-sidedly with the trained pug. And with that, the pug turned and high tailed out of the miniature dog door. _I'm counting on you Pakkun_ Kakashi thought, the words of his letter still echoing in his head.

 _Dear Anko..._

* * *

Guys let me assure you, this is a Kakashi/Anko story, so please like do not worry that there was a bit of Rin in this... like Kakashi and Rin go back, so it would be really awkward if they _didn't_ have moments like this. Please review... all of these views which I am so so thankful for but I'm not getting much feedback, and thank you so much to those who have given me feedback. Need some motivation to keep this up with the pressure of school.


	8. Nishigawa Mall

Sorry for more buildup LOL. I know you all are getting impatient. But I feel like an update per week is still pretty generous :P

I feel like I'm rushing a bit, so the quality is going down. I might take a week off updating so I can refine the next chapter.

* * *

The skies were cloudless, a striking blue, no winds whatsoever. It was a bright and dry Saturday; remarkably like the fall for these humid summer days. Kakashi now drained from an hour of incessant searching and biking was feeling the first beads of sweat trickling into his mask. He'd been searching for a particular somebody: none other than the number one unpredictable prankster of Nishigawa, Obito Uchiha.

He'd rung the dark-haired eccentric's doorbell, and even had peeked through the small apartments building to check if he was still dozing in bed. Still, maybe leaving at 6:00 AM wasn't that great of an idea. After biking to Harbor's Crafts and the farmer's field in the local mountain-path, Kakashi had concluded that Obito must've been working at the rice patties. The last time Kakashi had heard any words of Obito's extracurricular work life was before the two had started middle school. Obito had never struck him as a hard worker, but hey, it _had_ been a good two years since then. _We sure have some catching up to do..._ Kakashi thought to himself. Maybe a "dinner" at the Maji-Burger fast-food store would do.

Speak of the devil. He spotted a small figure rampaging around a small rice patty in oversized mud-stained boots. Obito had somehow managed to crush all the rice grasses in his path: a klutz as usual. Jumping off his still in-motion bike, Kakashi didn't bother standing it back up as he ran hurriedly towards his companion.

"Oi! Uchiha!"

Obito glanced up, surprised to hear the voice of his silver-haired friend.

"Kakashi?" He narrowed his eyes, raising his baggy gloves in a karate stance. "What are you doing here? You wanna go? Huh?!"

Kakashi sweat dropped, sighing. "You know Obito, this is why I usually hate having to deal with your company."

"Hey that's not how you're supposed to start a conversation! What do you want? I'm busy if you haven't noticed."

Kakashi was about to retort, until he caught sight of Obito's gloves. Hell they didn't even look like gloves; they were ripped up in every which way possible. His boots didn't look any better, the glue from the soles starting to peel off. His nails looked particularly dangerous, no doubt infested with bacteria from the patty water. He glanced back up skeptically at the impatient annoyed face in front of him. And sympathy rushed over him. He must've been working his sorry ass off every morning. All this time Kakashi had closed himself up, thinking he'd been the only one who'd had things bad as he did. And here he was again, thinking about his stupid plan to get Anko back to him; ready to run off after he'd gotten the help he needed from Obito. It _was_ really about time they'd caught up. Change of plans.

"Obito. I was just wondering if you wanted to get caught up with things. You know, for old times sake." It came out so sincere that Kakashi almost winced at how _nice_ he was being towards his nutshell partner; he managed not to.

"Yeah man! Let's go!" Obito replied cheerfully. He sprung out of the field onto the road, all thoughts of work completely forgotten at the once in a lifetime invitation from Kakashi Hatake. "Man I was starting to think you really were emo or something Kakashi!" Obito exclaimed, looping a muddy sleeve around Kakashi's neck.

"Back off Uchiha. I get enough bull from you at school." Kakashi managed in faked annoyance, swiping away Obito's dirt-bathed arm. But Obito was too happy to care as he started running towards the change of clothes he'd left on the side of the road. Kakashi watched as the raven-haired Uchiha grabbed his own bike, pulling up next to him, grinning.

"The dynamic biking duo HAS returned!" Obito chanted. Kakashi rolled his eyes, but secretly laughed, reminiscing. It didn't seem so long ago that the two had biked so gleefully through the streets of Konoha town. They'd developed an infamous reputation of dangerous street driving together. In fact, Obito was the one who'd taught Kakashi biking in the first place. Of course, Kakashi still considered himself the superior biker, and probably was. Once Obito had even fallen into Nishigawa river swerving to avoid a car. It had been the biggest pain in the world hauling the bike out of there as they received incessant complaints from the workers at the river.

"You know it." Kakashi agreed, nodding. He couldn't help but enjoy the small quality time he was having with the boy he'd been friends with since day one, even before Sakumo Hatake's death.

The two found themselves laughing, immersed in these familiar memories as they arrived at Maji-burger. It was about 8:00 AM, and the popular fast food restaraunt was filling up with adults stopping by for pre-work breakfast. When it was finally Kakashi's turn to order, he checked his pockets. 600 yen... he mused to himself, recognizing the large 500 yen and 100 yen coins by pattern with his fingers. He scanned his choices lazily, and opted for a small breakfast non-meal egroll.

Obito, who wasn't a believer in piggy banks, was always stuffed with his weeks-worth of work cash. Obito ordered two meals of the breakfast burgers; on a good day he would've gone for four, but decided to lay off for the sake of the busy workers. Picking up their meals, the two found a small seat in the corner of the room, both sipping from free water cups.

"So. How's Harbor's?" Obito initiated.

"Meh. Minato's been talking about shutting down. It's nothing much." Kakashi said offhandedly.

"WHAT?! What's Rin going to do? Heck, wait, what are _you_ going to do?" Obito panicked, waving his hands wildly, gathering the eyes of high schoolers and adults in Maji-Burger.

"Tone it down will ya? You take socially ignorant to the next level Obito. And like I said it's nothing much. Woodcarving's just a job for me anyways. I can always find another job that pays just as much as what I'm doing now." Kakashi replied reassuringly.

Obito stared, eyes narrowed. "Liar."

"What did you say?" Kakashi shot back, starting to get annoyed. Obito was pushing it.

"You're obviously lying. You won't settle for anything but crafting. After all, your dad—"

"Don't you know when to SHUT UP?!" Kakashi spit, his words like knives through his normally placid, unfeeling mask.

There were mutters all around the store: "delinquents...", "LOL middle schoolers.", "take it outside, it's the young morning...".

The two boys, now standing, glaring at each other in defiance remained in an unchanging stalemate. However the tension was short lived.  
"Hey kids. Here's a free burger. You can take it and get out, or stay and stop making a scene. Your choice." the large bloated man negotiated.

Obito snatched the burger out of the man's hands with a quick thanks, sitting back down sulkily on his seat. Kakashi followed, exhaling as he sank back into his chair. The minutes flew by as less and less people paid any more attention to the two.

"So... Kakashi. Who's your main squeeze? Don't think I don't know about your icha icha collection." Obito started, grinning at Kakashi.

Kakashi sighed, glad to be back in the comfort zone with Obito. "Please don't stoop me to your level Obito. There isn't anyone I'm attracted to like that at Nishigawa anyways."

"Oh please to you! All the guys have the thing for Ms. Tsunade—what?" Obito asked at Kakashi, who was shaking his head in disgust. "Fine, fine Mr. Noble. Then who do you like?"

"What's that supposed to mean? That's the same question." Kakashi pointed out in a know-it-all voice.

"You're hopeless." Obito groaned. "There's girls who you're like _attracted_ to. And then there's really sweet girls like Rin."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow. "I-I mean, Rin's just an example of... one such girls." Obito laughed loudly, scratching the back of his spiky black hair vigorously. _Okay. Obi-Rin confirmed_ , Kakashi thought to himself lazily.

"Actually." Obito suddenly said thoughtfully, raising his index to his chin. "I already _know_ who you _like like_." he said knowingly.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah's right! When are you going to ask Mitarashi out?"

"When are you going to ask Nohara (Rin) out?"

"Ah-ah, not my question."

"Anko's not even talking to me remember?"

"Well we'll just have to fix that won't we?" That caught Kakashi's attention. After all, he'd come to Obito for help with Anko in the first place.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Tomorrow's the summer festival? What better time of year is there?"

"I'm aware."

"So are you going to ask her or not? You still haven't answered my question."

"I'm afraid I can't answer that question Obito." Kakashi said, a mysterious glint in his eyes.

"Hah? What do you mean, it's a yes or no question."

"I can't answer cause..."  
"Cause?!"

Kakashi crinkled his eye, smiling. "I already asked her."

* * *

"So Kushina, what did Hiruzen say?"

Kushina ran up to him excitedly, her fists balled up excitedly or in anger; he coudn't tell.

"He said yes dattebane!" Kushina jumped up into his arms, laughing hysterically hugging him like he'd just saved the world from destruction.

"That's great!" Minato exclaimed, already at the prospect of telling Rin and Kakashi. They would be exhilarated. He smiled softly, embracing the payoff after a month of tough business and negotiation. He had secretly been trying to seal a deal with the Sarutobi Private Land Company (SPLC) in Konoha, managed by Hiruzen Sarutobi, who also happened to be the principal at Nishigawa Middle and High School. Mr. Sarutobi, who was like a grandfather to Minato, had agreed to expand Harbor's Crafts. After the bankruptcy of the neighboring pizza shop, Harbor's Crafts and a local meat factory had been competing for the now unused store-land. Thanks to Minato's connections with the owner of SPLC, Harbor's Crafts would now be twice it's current miniscule size! Minato could already picture the new organization of goods and crafts in his head. He could imagine a new fresh banner, more employee requests, more customers, and mostly, a happy Kakashi and Rin.

If all went well, Harbor's Crafts wouldn't be on the verge of collapse. Hell it would be one of the most lucrative stores by Nishigawa River! And maybe then Kakashi would finally find a peace of heart.

Minato glanced down lovingly at the mess of red hair below him as the two sat on the small living room couch. He smiled cheekily to himself. _We might even have a kid soon,_ he thought.

* * *

Kakashi sweat-dropped for the second time of the day at the sight before him. Obito grinning cheekily, followed by a sleepy Asuma, a bouncing Gai, and Kurenai and Rin.

"And, why was this necessary Obito?" Kakashi asked, sighing in defeat. Mental check; never ask Uchiha for personal help again. He'd asked _Obito_ to help him find a yukata for Anko, and of course, spare him some "change" to help him buy one.

"Hey c'mon the more the merrier! We all need yukatas for the festival anyway!" He leaned in closer to Kakashi's ear, whispering so the others wouldn't hear. "And we can stop by to look for Anko's too when no one's looking. Me and you, right buddy?"

"Yeah... _bud_."

The four boys and two girls stood awkwardly in the Nishigawa Mall, not knowing where to start as crowds of people walked by them. Even though it was rural, the Nishigawa Mall always managed to attract tons of people, and even Chinese and American tourists time to time. While the bike ride had been a bit far, it was the only place Obito and Kakashi could agree on to shop for festival wear.

Suddenly Obito started sprinting towards an old lady, barely walking with her extreme luggage.

"H-Hey Obito now isn't—" Kakashi and the others stopped, watching the Uchiha.

"Ohaiyo Obaa-san!" Obito greeted the lady.

"Oh is that you Obito-chan? How have you been? Are you keeping up your grades?"

"Yup! Totally!" Obito lied blatantly, and the whole group sweat dropped. "Anyways Obaa-san, I was wondering if you knew of any kimono shops around here?"

"What a coincidence Obito-chan! I'm actually on my way to the kimono shop! There's not a better place in Konoha! Come come, follow me. And oh, I wouldn't mind if you took some of this luggage off my old back!" The woman said happily, as she lowered her bags.

"Alright everyone! You heard Obaa-san! Let's go!" Obito exclaimed, picking up the woman's packs with ease.

"Obito it sure pays off helping the elderly huh?" Rin chirped, clasping her hands behind her back.

"O-Of course it does! It's only natural I'd help out the needy!" Obito said, blushing with pride. Everyone was laughing. Even Kakashi had let out the faintest of snickers. He'd forgotten how fun it was to be with everyone. But something was still missing. Anko. He didn't give a damn about the yukata. He wanted to see her. And the infuriatingly slow snail pace of the leading old woman was not helping his impatient mood.

When the group finally reached the large Kimono shop, they ran in excitedly.

The variety was extraordinary. It was like they were in a garden of wild diverse flowers. The colors complemented the bright mood of summer: sprinkles of pink, blotches of green and swishes of white. While all the guys ran over to buy their own Yukata's, Kakashi stood, suddenly completely clueless to what he'd want for Anko. He was also sure that he had one stuffed deep down under the tatami's (bamboo floors) in his room. _What kind of clothes do girls like anyway..._ He decided to silently follow Rin to see what she would be choosing. _Found her_. Rin was looking through a few plain tunic-colored yukata's. Kakashi found them more pleasant than the overly-vibrant red and orange ones that were the main advertisements of the shop. But for some reason he felt that Anko wouldn't like something that plain. Putting aside his personal preferences, he started looking for something a bit, but not much more, flashy. Spotting Kurenai near the front of the store, he caught a peek at what she was searching for. Bright red; uh, no. Making his way to the other corner of the shop, wading through the hangers of kimonos and yukatas, he found a collection of purple yukatas. _Purple. Like Anko._ He thought. Of course! Her hair was purple, and a purple yukata would match her perfectly.

To the normal person this may seem like common sense. Of course, Kakashi wasn't a normal person. Kakashi, who lived through picking the same navy blue shirts and khaki shorts every day, didn't have any grasps of the concepts of outfits. It was a moment of realization. Except... what size. Kakashi made some quick calculations. From the height difference, Anko had to be an XS or S, definitely not an XXS. He opted for the XS, but wouldn't want it to be too small (after all, he was sure to get the beating if it showed too much). Finally, he slowly took the hangar labled S. Making his way to the cash register, everyone else had made his or her choices too.

 _Oh shit_. Kakashi looked down at the purple yukata in his hands. They would think he was gay. He desperately caught Obito's eye, who immediately understood, rushing over.

"You should be thanking god for my genius, Hatake!" Obito smiled knowingly, putting the purple yukata under the orange and blue one he'd picked out. "And good choice." He winked. Kakashi just rolled his eyes as he handed Obito money for him to pay for the two yukatas.

Everyone stepped out. It was 4:35 PM, yet the heat seemed to be stronger than ever. The afternoon sky was quite a beauty, the sun within lateral eyesight. The matsuri was scheduled to start at 7:00 PM, but the early ones would start heading out by 6:00. Kurenai and Asuma said their goodbyes, rushing to their bikes hand in hand. Gai namely rushed off, running back since he'd refused to take the "shortcut of biking".

Kakashi stood off to the side, as Obito and Rin stood next to each other.

"So, Rin. C-Could you go to the matsuri with me? I don't really know the way, so I kind of need help getting there." Obito tried, sheepishly.

"Sure, Obito. I think you really deserve as much, considering how much trouble you went through for setting all this up for us." Rin replied, accepting Obito's feelings for once. She took his hand and led him to their bikes. Despite all this Kakashi didn't miss her glance back at him, as if checking for any wavers in _his_ feelings. Kakashi turned towards his own bike, ducking under Rin's glance. He waved to the two as Obito began to tell stories of his greatness to the crush of his lifetime.

The two were good for each other. Obito spearheading, Rin supporting. It was actually a healthy relationship. He couldn't see what Rin could see in him over Obito anyway. Kakashi kicked up his old creaking bikestand. It had been only a full day since he'd last seen Anko at soccer practice. But he couldn't wait to see her.

* * *

It's setup :) Please stick with, I hope I won't let you guys down. Next chapter is Kakashi and Anko at the Summer Festival! :D


	9. Summer Air

Taking a break from deviantart. But if you haven't seen that yet, go check out my profile!

Tried to switch between Kakashi/Anko in this chapter, and I'd say this is the longest yet, so enjoy.

* * *

It was a beautiful day for the matsuri festival. With the monsoon season approaching, days like this would undoubtedly become rarities. Kakashi sniffed at the pleasant air through his white cotton mask as he walked up the stairs to Anko's apartment. It smelled nice. Almost too nice. One of the reasons he wore a mask in the first place was to dilute his sense of smell; sometimes his acute nose picked up on more than he appreciated.

The plastic shopping bag with the purple yukata floated slowly with the wind. Now standing on the second floor of the building, he stood at the rail, unmoving for a bit as he gazed at the sunset. It wasn't that he wasn't anxious to see his best friend, because he was damn straight dying to see his purple-haired angel.

 _Angel huh..._ Kakashi thought back, reminiscing to the first lunch the two had shared under the cedar tree at Nishigawa. He chuckled to himself at the recollection of thorns being painfully torn out of his hand. _Maybe not exactly one._ It felt like so long ago. He still had no idea what to say when he'd knock on that door. But the reassurance that he'd be able to see Anko Mitarashi within 10 steps of his current stance completely calmed him. He walked to the apartment room 27, and softly rapped his knuckle twice on the door.

* * *

Anko tried in vain to push her hair back her ears. She was a mess. Normally she didn't care much about what her hair looked like, but this was overkill. She sighed as she gave up, walking away from the mirror. Anko sat on her bed, which had been provided to her from the orphanage. The orphanage she'd be soon to return too. What a day yesterday had been. First her breakdown in front of Rin, which she had mentally pounded herself for a billion times, and then the strange message. She stared blankly at the letter that had strangely appeared at her door the other day. It still lay there on the counter unopened. She knew it was from Kakashi. And as much as she was dying to open it, she knew it would just cause heartbreak for suggesting an impossible future. She was still in her dirt covered rolled down soccer stockings, in a sweaty Nishigawa practice uniform. She stared at the calendar. _Only 3 and a half more weeks_ she thought to herself sadly. Her thoughts moved back to the letter, wondering what Kakashi had in store for her. A horrible thought struck her. _Maybe it isn't from Kakashi. After all, why would he go through the trouble after how badly I've treated him this past week? He probably hates me right about now..._

The light rapping at her door interrupted her thoughts. Saturday. It was probably the daily messenger delivering her weekly payments from the orphanage. She slowly walked to the door, indifferent to her messy appearance.

Anko opened the door, and almost yelped at the sight. Kakashi was standing in front of her at her doorstep, dressed in an old dusty, navy yukata. She stumbled back into her shoe rack. She realized at once who had sent that letter.

"Kaka-Hatake-kun?!" she managed weakly.

 _Shoot! Keep your cool Anko. Don't get involved._ She saw him look down sadly at the mention of _Hatake-kun_ and felt a twinge of guilt in her chest. "What are you doing here?" She asked more softly.

"Anko um... did you get my letter?" Kakashi probed hopefully.

"Letter? No, I don't think so." Anko replied, putting on a puzzled face. The lie didn't help alleviate the throbbing pain in her chest.

"Oh... I see." Kakashi responded slowly, looking a bit relieved, but still confused. "Whatever. Anko... I umm... I want to take you t-to th-the summer matsuri today." Kakashi finished, red tinting the skin visible above his normally concealing mask.

"Me?" Anko took a moment to process. "But why? What about Obito and the others? What about Rin-san? All I've done is treat you like trash this past week! Stop playing around!" She paused. "I'm a pathetic excuse of a friend. I'm really not worth your time. You should... seriously move on... Kakashi." Anko looked down, unable to meet his eyes.

Motivated by his name from her mouth, Kakashi continued with a bit more confidence.

"Anko? Hey Anko look at me. You must be crazy if you think you're an excuse of a friend! Hell you're the best friend I've ever had! Don't let anyone make you think so lowly of yourself. So snap out of it because you're one of the most positive, bright, and not to mention attractive girls I know." He paused. "I don't know what the principal or mister pale creeper told you, but you must have some reason to be acting the way you are. And I'm not going to make you tell me anything. But whatever it is, I know that the world can't stop you from having even just one great afternoon. Neither of us lived the luckiest pasts. But both you and I've been lucky enough to find new friends who really care for us. I think we deserve as much."

Kakashi told her, eyes crinkling. Anko didn't know what to think. She was flattered, astonished, overjoyed, and calmed all in one; the greatest feeling a girl could ever ask for. But for one thing she knew Kakashi was right. _He's right! Why the hell am I letting myself get pushed around!_ She took a deep breath, pushing her bangs behind her ears, smiling heartily.

"You got a point! Damn straight I'll go!"

"Now that's the Anko Mitarashi I know." Kakashi laughed, high fiving her.

Anko suddenly noticed the shopping back in Kakashi's hand.

"What's that?" She asked, eyes widening curiously.

"Right. Almost forgot about that." Kakashi laughed scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "See, when I _asked_ you to come with me, I meant you _have_ to come with me." Kakashi said, smirking as he held up the purple yukata in front of her. Anko gasped.

"You're kidding me Hatake. You didn't just..."

"I did." His smirk widened even visibly under his mask, handing it over to her. "All yours."

Anko was mesmerized as she took the fine cloth in her hands, like a kid who'd hit the jackpot Christmas morning. It was a beautiful yukata. She'd always loved classical Japanese clothing. As a kid she'd watch dancers in kimonos, just wishing to be part of the stage. Of course, she never had the opportunity to pursue any dancing, or wear a kimono or yukata for that matter, at the orphanage.

"I'll be right back!" She shouted, rushing to her bathroom. She smiled as she turned from the silver-haired boy who'd gone out tooth and nail for her. _That idiot..._ she thought, laughing to herself.

* * *

Kakashi waited at the front door, and he felt like the happiest man alive. Not only had Anko accepted, but she obviously liked his choice of yukata for her. _I just hope the size fits..._ Kakashi shuddered at the thought of a _very_ angry Anko. But more than anything he was just happy that Anko was back and alive again. He felt as if it was his duty to cut the restricting chains that bound her when they came up. She deserved to be free. Why was the orphanage making her life worse than it already was? For now, it didn't matter. He just wanted Anko to have fun at the festival; he hoped he'd be able to give her the satisfaction of fun that she'd helped him re-experience at soccer practice.

To his surprise, the bathroom door began to open in 10 minutes. From his experience with Asuma's complaints, Kurenai could spend up to an hour in the bathroom. She stepped out, and Kakashi certainly had no complaints. She looked beautiful. Not exactly womanly, but to Kakashi, the slightly big yukata looked extremely cute and attractive on her. Her hair was still tied up in her customary ponytail, but it was less spiky than usual since her dampened purple threads weighed down a bit.

"You look... really nice." Kakashi managed a bit bluntly running a hand out of habit through his silver hair.

"Thanks." Anko said quickly, as she wordlessly slipped into a pair of crocs, turning red under his unwavering stare.

The two walked down the stairs towards Kakashi's bike and hopped right on. It was almost seven, and rush hour was starting to die down. Kakashi pedaled quickly through the streets. If memory served correctly he had to make a turn at the Harbor's Crafts towards the Otan district. The pair soon made a left turn under the high way bridge towards east Konoha towards the mountains. Kakashi felt beads of sweat forming on his nose as he pedaled up the steep and narrow road towards the matsuri. Near the top of the small hill they could already see the lanterns and soft orange lights. Progress slowed as the hill just got steeper.

"Hey, Kakashi! Should I switch?"

"Don't worry I'm fine. We're almost there anyway." Kakashi grunted back, pedaling rapidly, quickly consuming a new wave of energy. Finally, they made it up to the stairs leading up to the shrine, and parked the bike near a bunch of others.

Kakashi's legs were still shaking from the bike ride, so he only slowly trugded up the stairs. He felt a surpressed energy source besides him. Turning, he saw Anko was staring at him impatiently, as if ready to leap to the top in a single step. He gestured _go ahead_. Anko grinned at his permission, and bounded up to the matsuri, disappearing into a crowd of other kids from Nishigawa.

When Kakashi finally made it to the top, he looked up to the grinning platoon. In front of him was the whole package; Obito, Asuma, Kurenai, and Rin.

"Finally made it Bakakashi?" Obito laughed, staring at the unruly figure.

"Looks like I did." Kakashi gasped, exasperated from the bikeride. After greeting the others, he turned 360 spotting Anko in line, jumping with excitement for the ring toss game. He turned towards a bench in the secluded corner of the matsuri and made his way over. He sat quietly on the bench, exhaling peacefully and closing his eyes. The sounds of excited kids and volunteer adults telling Japanese folktales filled the air. He saw some kids scooping goldfish from the small pond, 100 yen per try. Looking back to Obito, he saw the Uchiha managing a discount from an old lady after buying 10 frankfruits as Rin stood next to him, sipping Ramune. Kurenai and Asuma were sharing a stick of cotton candy, pushing the PDA rules at times.

Kakashi found all of these activities too childish for his enjoyment. Not that he felt that he was too good for any of them. He'd just grown up way too fast. Perhaps if his life led a more fortunate one, he would be laughing amongst Obito and Rin at this very moment, or throwing wanages (rings) with Anko.

He reached in the pocket of his yukata, feeling out the coins. 600 yen to spend, he thought thoughtfully. He considered his options, and opted for a negi-yaki (somewhat of a pancake), and paid 100 yen to the old lady after waiting a couple minutes in line. He was about to make his way back to the bench after he finished eating when a warm hand grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back. He lost balance, falling. Anko, who hadn't expected Kakashi to be that light, found herself crushed under the heavier boy's larger body. She burst into wide laughter.

"What was that for?" Kakashi muttered, a bit irked as he dusted himself off, staring at a sheepish Anko.

"Sorry Kakashi!" she said through her peels of laughter. "I didn't think you'd be that _weak_!" she commented, still snickering cheerfully as she sat up. She was carrying a box of dango with mitarashi syrup. "Anyways, I was wondering if you wanted to do wanage with me!"

"Psh! I happen to be mature, unlike you, _kid_." Kakashi scoffed, waving her offer off.

"What? You did _not_ just deny my favor!" Anko said, throwing a dango stick at him in frustration.

"Well I just did." Kakashi replied, smirking visibly.

"Well if you're not going to come willingly I'm going to _force_ you to come!" Anko said evilly, grabbing his wrist and pulling him with surprising strength into the line.

"Hmph! You really are pretty weak!" Anko said with satisfaction, dusting her hands off, pleased with her work.

Kakashi sighed. "Whatever you say Anko."

Soon it was their turn. The old man gave them 5 rings each to throw at the targets.

"This is going to be an easy win!" Anko challenged Kakashi.

"Wouldn't be so sure." Kakashi shot back.

Anko threw first at the 5 point (medium distance) target, and made it clean.

Kakashi went for the 3 point option and made it.

"Aw is that the best Kashi-kun can do?" Anko teased, throwing at another five. It missed, to her dismay. Meanwhile, Kakashi made another 3.

"That makes 6 for me, 5 for you. So what were you saying about winning?"

"I wouldn't be so sure of yourself Hatake." Anko snarked back. She threw for the 10, and it just made it in. "Hah! 15! Let's see what you can do!"

Kakashi thought for a second, then threw at the 10. It made it.

"That's 16 to 15." Kakashi said mildly. But he realized that Anko was starting to get a bit frustrated. He decided it wasn't worth getting her angry, and missed the next two, aiming for two 10's. Anko ended up winning the challenge, and she smiled cutely as she got a prize for getting 21 points.

"Oi Hatake! Mitarashi!" Called a familiar Uchiha. The two turned to see Obito, Rin, Asuma, and Kurenai standing near the outskirts of the shrine. Kakashi nodded to Anko, and the two ran over to the hill the others were standing on.

"What's up?" Kakashi asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He realized how dark the night had gotten without the guardian lights of the matsuri.

"We're doing a kimo-dameshi (a game where the bravest are the winners)! Rin and I are team 1. Asuma and Kurenai are team 2, so you and Anko are team 3. We're going to take turns to see who can go the farthest into the woods without chickening out! Besides, I hear there are ghosts around the shrines here." Obito added, shivering.

"Don't be silly Obito. Ghosts don't exist." Rin scolded him.

"Yeah Obito. Wouldn't want to lose your girl right?" Asuma winked at him.

"Ah shut up Asuma! We got this, right Rin?" Obito said confidently, gulping in the process. The group watched as the pair disappeared into the dark woods. Almost immediately, Obito came running back followed by an exasperated Rin.

"That-huff-was-huff-too scary!" Obito exclaimed, gasping. Rin just shook her head sadly, giggling slightly.

"I'll show you how it's done, right Kurenai?" Asuma said. Kurenai nodded fearfully, clinging too his arm as they disappeared into the dark forest. The group heard a shriek.

"I told you there are ghosts! Oh no! They must've gotten Kurenai! We gotta get out of here!" Obito shrieked, flailing his arms.

"Wait." Kakashi said, hesitating. Soon Kurenai burst into the clearing, rubbing her bare shoulders. Asuma slowly followed after her, a bump on his head from Kurenai's fist.

"She thought my fingers were a spider. What a drag." Asuma sighed, wondering how he'd gotten into this mess. "Alright Kakashi, you guys better get going."

"Who said we have to play this game." Kakashi said pointedly.

"Aw is Kashi-chan scared? You going to lose it in front of your girl?" Anko asked, teasing him. Kakashi stared at her surprised at the mention of "your girl". Anko frowned. "Just go with it." She whispered.

"Alright..." Kakashi groaned back.

The forest was pitch black. It was almost amazing how black things could get. It took about a full minute for Kakashi's eyes to adjust. He felt Anko's warm hand clutching his larger one. Suddenly he heard a yelp as Anko slipped behind him.

"Anko? Anko!" Kakashi yelled, alarmed.

"I'm alright Kakashi! I just tripped." he heard her voice a bit far behind him. She must've slid down a good distance. He heard her get up as he walked towards the sound of her footsteps. He was just about to reach out to her when he suddenly felt a pair of soft warm lips through his thin mask. He realized that they were Anko's. And he realized how awkward of a situation he'd gotten into.

It felt nice. And Anko had even stayed put for a split second before she'd realized what had happened. He heard her step back quickly. Kakashi didn't know what to do. All he could feel was the warmth of Anko's figure somewhere near him and in front of him. The two were both confused, unable to comprehend the unbelievable twist of fate that had just brought them together.

"Let's just go back." Kakashi heard quietly. He grunted in agreement as the two turned on heel and walked back towards the matsuri. He was beyond glad for the dark, since he was probably red as a tomato at the moment.

When they were re-engulfed in the light, he saw Anko's flustered face as she wiped off the dirt from her purple yukata. Well, he probably didn't look any better.

"Well I've got to admit you guys did spend the longest time in that hellhole." Obito admitted, oblivious to what had gone on between the two in the dark forest.

"I guess we can agree that Kakashi and Anko win?" he asked.

There was a unanimous agreement. The words just went into Kakashi's right ear and out his left; his thoughts were still completely unorganized and incoherent.

 _What a first kiss_.

* * *

The matsuri was till going on, but the younger kids were starting to leave with their parents, and many of the shops began to close down. Kakashi was sitting back to the secluded bench. He watched as Obito started buying even more food. He and Anko hadn't exchanged any words since they'd "kissed" each other. In his opinion, it didn't really count since they weren't aware of it (or at least he wasn't) and since he was still wearing his mask.

He saw Anko sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees at the base of the shrine's greatest tree. The trunk was a good two Obito's wide in diameter. There were tags of wishes and kanji decorated around the ropes that encircled the thick trunk. Lights hung from its enormous branches that roofed the matsuri-zone.

He made his way over to Anko. He sat next to her. He felt her flinch at his presence.

He didn't look directly at her, but stared up at the majestic tree with her instead.

The two sat there in silence.

"They call this the greatest tree in the Otan shrine." Kakashi commented. Anko didn't reply. "They say that you make a wish once a year. And if you're paying your respects right it _might_ just come true."

"I guess we should make our wishes then." Anko replied quietly, as if in deep thought, her gaze still unwavering from the tree. Kakashi looked at her, and nodded in silence. The two sat there wordlessly, eyes closed, praying for at least a full 5 minutes.

Finally, Anko stood up, sighing from exhaustion as she stretched in her purple yukata. Kakashi followed, standing up slowly, the blood rushing back into his head.

It was Anko who lead the way to the matsuri stairs before the two said their goodbye's to Obito and the others. Anko felt dismayed. She ended up attaching herself even more to her silver-haired friend today. She knew she wouldn't be able to bear leaving him in a mere 3 weeks of time. She'd wished to avoid the inevitable of course. _But miracles don't happen_.

"Miracles can happen." Kakashi stated next to her, as if understanding her thoughts fully. "You shouldn't be deciding your fate Anko." Kakashi said, laughing barkishly.

It was a warm, comforting laugh.

* * *

Please review. Hope you enjoyed :)


	10. Hospitals

Thanks for the long wait everyone. I've been quite busy lately, but I have found some new motivation! :D ENjoy!

* * *

Obito grinned tightening his laces at the Seirin Middle School gate. The train had dropped the team off a bit late, but the motley Nishigawa soccer crew had made it in time.

It was the day of the Summer Inter-Middle soccer tournament: the final tournament the 3rd years would have with the 2nd years before graduating. For Kakashi, things were finally going well. His stress seemed to have vanished into thin air. After he had heard the good news from Minato, he had been ecstatic to the point of even helping with the renovation and construction of the new Harbor's Crafts. And it didn't hurt that Anko would stop by every so often to keep him company. He'd even started to take soccer more seriously. He worked harder than ever at practice, determined to produce results at this final competition.

Mr. Kagawa, who had volunteered to escort everyone to Seirin shook hands with the opponent coaches. The players however, were not so friendly. Iruka, one of the first years, shivered from the cold, mocking stares.

"What's their problem?" Anko hissed towards Asuma, who was walking next to her.

"Hmph. We get it every year cause we're the failures." Asuma replied, perhaps a bit too loudly, earning a fist to the forehead from the captain.

"Everyone! We'll be sitting out the first rounds, so head to the bleachers." Mr. Kagawa reported, blissfully ignorant of the stares they were receiving.

The team plopped on the benches, many exhaling with the relief from the blazing sun. Nishigawa watched as the first two teams kicked off.

"Oh boy were we are _so_ screwed this year..." Asuma drawled. Even Shisui didn't correct him this time. The teams were on another level. If Nishigawa had improved by a scale of 5, then it felt as though these teams had improved by 50. By game time the Nishigawa players had practically gone pale.

The starting members stepped on to the field, Shisui shouting commands from the goal line.

"We will now begin round two of the tournament! Seirin Middle School vs. Nishigawa Middle School.

Obito smirked, giving the opponent strikers a thumbs down as he stepped up to the ball. Kakashi face palmed inwardly; why did he have to make things worse for them? But he kept focused; Obito was in the right mindset. Kickoff. Obito passed to his accompanying third year striker, who back heeled to Kakashi. The pressure came immediately, two strikers charging in without containing onto the silver-haired midfielder. Under normal situations he would've made a quick pass to Anko or Asuma. But today, Kakashi wasn't exactly his normal self. He was pissed. Pissed that these teams had made a fool of Shisui senpai's hard work. Pissed that they'd made fun of his hard work.

Ignoring the calls of his teammates, he megged the right striker, leaving them both in the dust. The hooting and cheering from the Nishigawa bench practically shook the entire school. Having embarrassed two aces of Seirin Middle School, Kakashi selflessly gave the ball off to the right wing who took the ball up for a cross. It was deflected by a Seirin defenders and turned over.

Kakashi grimaced, rushing back on defense. It wasn't the defense of Seirin that was scary, but their formidable offense. Even with a 5 back formation, last year they'd been virtually unable to shut down their passing lanes. _Shit!_

Kakashi realized he'd lost his mark in the midst of things. Spinning around he saw the opponent midfielder wide open for a shot. But it was too late. The pass was already coming. _Damnit_. Kakashi tried jumping while facing his back to the shot. Except the shot never came. Turning around he saw Anko on a fast break.

"That's mean leavin me outta the action ya know!" He heard her shout happily as she silkily dodged the rough defenders. Winding up for a shot, she finessed the ball around the goal keeper. Kakashi couldn't believe it. It was a one man-show, and Anko was the actress on the stage.

The Nishigawa bench hollered exuberantly, and Shisui clapped praising from the goal post. As Anko jogged back earning claps on the back from her teammates, laughing heartily. The Seirin players cursed, but shut up upon hearing the enraged shouts from their fat coach.

"Everyone stay focused! It's still fair game!" Shisui called from the goal post.

"That's right it's 0-0!" added another 3rd year from defense. Anko gulped, nodding with determination turning around to the kickoff.

The rest of the game was a battle of sheer determination of both teams. With the help of multiple saves from Shisui, and the Obito-Anko-Kakashi tag team, Nishigawa was able to pull off a clutch 4-3 win in overtime. The rest of the day in fact was just as tough. Nishigawa even had to sub in first years due to the level of exhaustion of midfielders like Kakashi and Anko. In the end, they were able to actually make the final rounds, but lost pathetically since half the team felt like they had heat strokes.

Still, it was one of the biggest accomplishments in Nishigawa soccer. Hell this was Nishigawa baseball level success.

* * *

It was 9:00 by the end of the tournament. Nishigawa said their goodbyes and went towards the train station, while Mr. Kagawa said his goodbyes, driving home.

Obito bought a Pocari-Sweat drink from a vending machine. The first years yelled at him, whining that he was breaking the rules.

"Hah, silly kids. Y'all need to learn that sometimes you _need_ to break the rules." Obito said in a heroic, cool voice as he downed the sports drink. The first years mocked him disbelievingly as everyone got on the metro. The train was surprisingly even with rush hour dying down. In fact, the team had an entire section to first years were playing monkey bars from the train handles.

Kakashi quietly read a book in the corner of the metro, as the 3rd years were scribbling down bullshit homework for the test the next day. Anko was celebrating with a few other second years, as they played cards in another section of the train.

"Now Genma and those stupid baseball jocks won't be able to mock us!" Gai exclaimed.

"That's right you fools, it's a big deal making it to the finals! You all ought to be proud of Nishigawa." A 3rd year smiled, walking by. "I'm glad this was the last tournament that we had."

"Yeah... well we pretty much got our asses saved by a girl." Asuma groaned, picking his earwax. Obito and Gai protested madly listing out their plays as Anko just giggled from the praise.

Kakashi eavesdropped, drifting into his own thoughts. No doubt Nishigawa would start taking the team more seriously after they'd managed to make finals at the biggest Japanese district soccer tournament. _Things really are back to normal_. Kakashi thought happily to himself.

He stared out the dark window, looking at himself in the reflection of the glass. He realized it had been so long since he'd last even seen himself in a mirror. His hair was growing extremely long, even starting to lose a bit of its perpetual spikiness. Pulling out a cellphone from his pocket, he realized he had about 300 unchecked texts. Ruffling his hair, he realized how remotely separated from his social life he had become.

The first team members started to leave the train at their respective stops. It was 9:30 when Anko, Obito, and Kakashi, got off the train at their stop, saying goodbye to the remaining Nishigawa soccer team.

Slipping their tickets through the ticket machines, they walked in a threesome down the stairs.

Kakashi thought about what they'd do after this. With soccer temporarily over, and summer break approaching, he couldn't wait. In fact, it was a foreign feeling. Summer break for him usually just meant more work at Harbor's. And he'd never felt particularly ecstatic about hanging with Obito and the others anyway. He turned towards the purple haired girl walking next to him. _You really are a godsend kid._

It was a cold, empty night aside from the soft chirping of crickets. If it wasn't for Obito's corny jokes to fill up the night, it would've been probably unbearable. Since it was a long walk towards their respective homes, so they all decided to first head towards Obito's house together (mostly for Obito's scaredy-cat-ness). Suddenly, the group heard footsteps. They all froze, turning towards the group of walking feet.

"What are you kids doin way out here tonight..." a voice drawled, undoubtedly slurred by alcohol.

The three cringed at the voice. They were under a light, and they could make out the face of the man-no, group of men. What shit timing. Kakashi cursed inwardly. It was a local gang. It wasn't often you got the pleasure to encounter thugs like these in middle school. Kakashi carefully put his hands in front of him. The man had a knife and a beer bottle. The others probably had their own knives. A fight was a no-go.

They began to close in. Looks like they weren't getting out without a fight though. Kakashi turned to Obito, but Obito was completely paralyzed in fear. Anko wasn't any better.

"What do you guys want?" Kakashi asked slowly, keeping his hands in front of him. If he played his cards carefully...

"Oh I don't know... got a fag kids? Or... actualllllyyy lookie here cutie." He said, drawing near Anko. Anko immediately put her hands out defensively.

"Stop. I'll scream!" She managed, shaking. Her left hand slowly slinking back to the cellphone in her soccer bag.

The man frowned, slinking back.

"Hmph. Kids these days are no fun." He turned away absently for a second.

Suddenly, he lunged forward, grabbing Anko catching her off guard, who screamed thrashing in the man's filthy grip.

"Anko!" Kakashi shouted, jumping forward without thinking. The last thing he saw out of his right eye was a flash of metal. Followed by a bath of red, which slowly turned pitch black. Which was followed by a wave of excruciating pain. He fell down howling, clutching his slashed right eye.

"Kakashi!" He heard from Anko and Obito.

"Looks like you'll be needing a bigger mask, white-hair!" the triumphant drunk cackled. Out of his left eye, he caught a woman shouting and dialing the cops no doubt. But at this rate the cops wouldn't get here in time. They needed to get help and fast.

And out of nowhere was team Kakashi's first blow. Obito socked the molester, freeing Anko from the vice grip. There was a temporary discordance in the gang with their leader partially knocked out. Kakashi immediately got up giving his slasher a satisfying uppercut. Anko meanwhile ran towards the woman who was ushering the group. Obito landed another blow on a drunk gang member. Their dulled reflexes made it easier fighting for the two boys. Kakashi suddenly pushed Obito down as a man tried to aim a stab at the back of the Uchiha's head. The gang was starting to get riled up. Now many of the men had pulled out their knives.

"I think now would be a great time to get out of here." Obito whispered to Kakashi.

"I don't disagree." Kakashi muttered, still clutching his bleeding right eye. His horrible headache wasn't helping the situation. He was actually starting to feel lightheaded too.

Suddenly Obito screamed, "The Cops! Oh boy!" The gang turned frightfully, only to realize they'd been fooled hook line and sinker.

Obito seized the opportunity to grab Kakashi and make a run for it towards the woman who had dialed the cops with Anko. Kakashi, who weakly rode on Obito's back, could gradually feel his vision coming back. Anko was doing fine as she stood at the top of the hill. Obito not so well; his adrenaline running out, he was slowing down, exhaustion from the soccer tournament catching up to him.

Kakashi forced himself off Obito, grunting as he started sprinting ahead of his ass's savior.

"Almost there..." He groaned jogging sluggishly falling behind Obito.

Obito who'd turned around, suddenly stopped wide eyed.

"Idiot!" He screamed. He pushed Kakashi to the side out of the way, causing the silver-haired teen to crash into the fence lining the street.

"What the hell Ob-" Kakashi stopped, staring up, horrified. He saw the knife as it sank into Obito's shoulder. Obito stood, spitting blood into the drunk's face, as the thug stumbled back, realizing what he'd done.

He heard Anko shriek with the woman from the top of the hill. The drunk ran back leaving the bloody knife on the road as he began to run back to his gang.

But Kakashi wasn't taking it. No, not Obito. Not the only friend he ever fucking made. He grabbed the man by the shoulder pulling him back violently, raising his fist for a punch.

"Kakashi don't... you don't want to get involved." He heard Obito's voice sputter behind him. Kakashi froze, his rage still boiling over. He couldn't fathom the idea that this excuse of a person took the life of one of the greatest human beings Japan would ever see. He stared into the murder's guilty, regretful, but ignorant eyes one last time, before shoving the imbecile down the hill towards his gangs.

"Motherfuckers!" He shouted after them. He wanted to give chase and pound their sorry asses.

But the reality came back to him. Obito was dying. He rushed back to the now collapsed figure, bleeding out onto the road. Anko was already next to him, her hand covering her mouth as she choked out tears. Kakashi turned Obito over frantically.

"Looks like I finally did something right... huh Kakabaka." Obito rasped, smiling weakly, the color draining from his face.

"Idiot don't talk, Kakashi said, taking off his sweaty jersey, pressing it on the deep knife would in an attempt to stop the bleeding. He heard the sounds of cop cars and ambulances coming. "Goddamnit Obito you really had me worried there." Kakashi said, wiping his forehead feeling relieved.

Obito just smiled, closing his eyes peacefully.

"Obito? Obito! Don't die on me now!" Kakashi shouted through his mask.

"I'm fine Kakashi. Really. I'm happy I did something useful in the end." Obito said, eyes opened, but starting to glaze. Kakashi could see him losing consciousness.

"What are you talking about? What about Rin? She needs you you dumb shit! I need you! What happened to becoming captain? What the hell man?" Kakashi managed, sobbing. "Damnit when the hell are those ambulances gonna get here?!"

"Man... you're right I never got to confess to Rin huh. Which reminds me..." Obito turned his head slightly towards Anko. "See this retard next to me? He loves you. And you're probably the only annoying ass girl this blockheads every going to love at all. Don't you go breaking his heart alright?" Anko nodded, cherishing the very possibly last words of the lively, exuberant Uchiha. Obito turned back.

"That goes..." He coughed blood, and Anko broke down as Kakashi frantically tried to keep the bleeding down with his socks now. "For you too Kakashi. But as for Rin... promise me you'll protect her. It's your turn next." Obito trailed off.

"Don't worry you can bet on your life I'll protect her for you Obito." Kakashi said quickly, removing his other sock to stop the bleeding. "Hey! Stay with me! Anything! Wills? Wishes?" it was too late when Kakashi realized he had assumed Obito was already a goner.

*Cough*. "H-Hah. Let's see... when I die make sure you make that freaking Sarutobi carve my face onto the school with all those other old dead principals." His last words before his dark eyes closed completely.

The ambulance pulled in, and the technicians pulled Obito onto a stretcher, carrying him into the truck. The paramedics exchanged looks with each other as they carried the seemingly lifeless Obito Uchiha into the ambulance. They also put Kakashi on a stretcher, wheeling him besides Obito inside the ambulance.

Relaying the info to the remaining policemen at the scene who would continue investigation, the ambulance drove off, leaving Anko alone at the detective scene with a household woman.

The white light in the ambulance was blinding. The ringing off the ambulance wasn't helping his headache either. The paramedics bandaged him, leaving him be. The last thing he remembered was watching the group of medics swarm the stretcher besides him in the noisy car before closing his working left eye.

* * *

 _Heartbeat failing. Unconscious for half an hour. Extreme blood loss. Stabbed once through the right side of chest._

 _Erratic breathing ceased, breathing almost completely ceased. Close to dead on arrival. Patient: Uchiha Obito. Age: 14._

 _Parents: None. Relatives/Guardians: Uchiha Satsuki. Affiliates: Hatake Kakashi, Nohara Rin, Namikaze Minato._

 _School: Nishigawa Middle School._

 _Cause of death: Blood loss_

 _Time of Death: 10:21 PM. Konoha Hospital. Konoha, Japan._

 **This** was the heartless report Kakashi Hatake received in his hospital room at 12:00 PM, the time of his release from Konoha Hospital. Making a scene, he left the hospital in tears, running past his affectionate admirer Anko Mitarashi as he made his way home. He shut himself in his room, shut himself out of reality. This was the second turn in the young boy's life. Not so much that his right eye had been crushed, but that he'd lost another important person in his life. It's not often that life hits a teenager down twice. But Kakashi Hatake wasn't an ordinary teenager.

Even before the first turn his life hit him with.

.

.

.

* * *

Rest in Peace Obito :( One of my favorite characters in Naruto (Of course he didn't die in original plotline, but...


	11. Kakashi's Story

Sorry for the late update! Was a busy as hell 2 weeks for me! Finally got some time today! And thanks for everyone who's still reading.

* * *

Gray dreary clouds. The melancholy fall weather weighed heavily in the air.

"Bye Kana!" the young boy called out, waving a goodbye jubilantly to the purple-haired girl at the preschool gate. Jumping in the awaiting car excitedly, he began to immediately plow through a recitation of small and innocent pleasures, albeit the disgruntling atmosphere.

From the small building block activities to urinal practice sessions, the boy's day was full of childish delights. All the same, the suited, well-dressed man was not in a comparable mood. As caring as a father the man was, today was a different day from the standard. The usual cheerful chirps of his son ought to have uplifted the stress of his work, as it had for the past 5 years.

The boy asked what was wrong. Nothing at all. Even seeing the worry vanish from his son's innocent face did not help alleviate the father's ever-growing distraughtness.

The next day followed similarly, the father gradually growing farther and farther from the son, eventually forgetting the feeling of warmth and love altogether. Work took over before the boy's first year in primary school in Tokyo Japan.

Two nights later came a phone call to the large residence. The father quickly ushered his son out of the enormous and spacious yet empty living room as he hustled to the ominously ringing machine. He could only hope that it was a telemarketer or innocent distant relative. Reality was cruel. The phone call terminated.

The boy, growing ever-discontent with his father's disparity, paced restlessly, a toothbrush hanging out of his small, pale mouth. Suddenly he heard panicked and angered shouts from the living room. He was worried; he didn't know the meanings of these seemingly crude words, and moreover he'd never heard his father so angry. His fears were confirmed when he saw a bloodshot man suddenly rush into the bedroom with a pile of papers and documents, packing them into a suitcase in the process.

"Daddy what's wrong?"

He got no replies but merely a few hysterical grunts from the silver-haired man. This was even more worrying. He was scared. His father had never ignored him before. He started to cry, neither able or wanting to understand the gravity of the situation. His father immediately shushed him roughly, as he continued to pack his bags hurriedly. The house suddenly a lot bigger without the warmth of his father to fill it. Suddenly the boy felt a lot more alone and exposed; he'd never felt so helpless.

The father told the boy that they were leaving. And that he wasn't to bring any possessions.

"But daddy, what about the wood room?"

The boy didn't receive an answer as he followed the father through the small homey shack full of all sorts of contraptions as well as arts made of wood.

"Daddy what about the wood room?"

The boy was told to be quiet and compliant. But the boy couldn't leave behind all of the memories he'd compiled in the small room. It was the first order he'd ever broken given by his father. He was scared. But he forced his small trembling hand to snatch the closest object next to him as the father turned back barking at him to hurry up.

The tears diluted many of the boy's memories of the events that followed this sudden disaster. He recalled having to sit next to a stranger in a strange and packed car full of many mean-looking businessmen and dreary adults. His father seemed no different, standing stoically next to him.

"Daddy I'm tired."

The boy whined, choking tearfully in the process. The father seemed to give no notice. The woman next to him and the father exchanged a few heated words as the woman tried to wipe the small 6-year old's tears through the boy's thrashing.

At 1:00 AM, the father left the train ushering the half-asleep boy onto the station to an isolated rural area of Japan. Rushing through the neighborhoods, the father cautiously rang the doorbell of a seemingly random house, quickly entering upon invitation. That night they spent a day in a strange, small, cramped room in the attic.

"Daddy I don't feel well."

The father seemed to give no notice. He was busy with a dimly lit computer in the corner of the already cramped, small room. The next morning they were on the road. And so on. From house to house. Until eventually after a month, not even the father's closest friends and relatives were willing to provide homage, lest they would get involved.

The silver-haired teen stood vigilantly still on a hot sunny day at the religious bridge. He and his father Sakumo Hatake were playing the poor-traveller acts at the Buddha shrines, for the sake of "inconspicuousness", according to his father. He never had really quite understood the word, and even if he had, he wouldn't have the slightest clue of why it was necessary for his father to remain concealed. Ever since he had been forced to abandon the life of a normal Japanese _seito_ or student, he had been treated as a burden by his father, a nuisance, and an object. He wasn't to ask any questions, or question anything.

But the silver haired teen loved his father. His heart still throbbed with happiness from the soft memories of his father welcoming him home from preschool. And he couldn't forget the fascination in his father's woodworking techniques. Occasionally, he'd be allowed to paint the small trinkets, but his protective loving father never had let him use a knife. A knife is an impurity of innocence. That's what he had been told.

His father suddenly whispered to him that he would go to the bathroom, and the boy nodded solemnly, sitting like a starving dog in front of an empty bowl. Kakashi ran a hand through his ashy hair, waiting until his father had walked out of sight into a crowd of rich tourists. He pulled out of his pocket the small object he'd pilfered from the wood room 2 years ago. It was a small pendant-like object: just without a cord. 3 beads with a fang as the last one. He turned it admiringly in his smudged calloused hand, absorbing every angle.

Suddenly he heard a small rustle above him. _Kana?_ The girl had the same striking purple hair tied back in the same ponytail. His only friend in preschool, and almost as precious to him as his loving father. He wanted to stand up and hug her. But staring into her curious, ignorant eyes, he knew that even if it was her, she probably had completely forgotten him. After all, Kana had so many more friends than him. Kakashi looked down sadly, unable to meet the girl's eyes.

"Hiya.. You look about my age! How old are you?" The girl asked innocently, ignoring the teacher's call to not approach hoodlums.

"I'm 7 years old."

"What a coincidence! So am I! Huh… why are you sitting around with this bowl here?"

Kakashi began to explain his father's orders, but bit his tongue, remembering his father's intentions.

"I'm very poor. I need to beg for money since I don't have much to eat." Kakashi replied, feigning sadness.

"Oh that's horrible! Wait here is a…" But the teacher was already pulling the girl back by the scruff of her school uniform. "Wait! Here!"

The 100-yen coin came straight into Kakashi's palms as the girl began to wave goodbye to him from the group.

"Nice catch!" She laughed delighted with Kakashi.

"Nice throw!" He called back, and he felt happy as she giggled despite her teacher's scoldings. The small encounter reminded him of how happy he used to be. And suddenly he craved for his old life. He wanted to go back to being an average school boy, learning math, science, history, and english. He felt another presence behind him, turning to see his stoic and emotionless father. And he knew seeing his father's dull, dead eyes that his wishes wouldn't become reality. The rest of the day at the bridge was full of the usual day-by-day of being shunned by the travelers. He didn't tell his father about the girl he had met, or the 100-yen coin. Not that it mattered.

6 months later Sakumo and Kakashi were back in rural Japan. News of his father's infamousy seemed to increase by the day, appearing on walls in the big cities. It was much safer and cozier in rural Japan anyway, according to Kakashi's dad.

Sakumo and his son sat at a bench near a small tombo ricefield. In the distance, kids were romping around in oversized boots trying to catch tadpoles and turtles in the overflowing sewage ducts. Earnings were now purely self-harvested, since Sakumo's bank account had been shut down by local government. With small temp jobs here and there, the two were able to make a living under pseudonyms.

Suddenly, Kakashi had the urge to talk to his father. Something he hadn't done in quite a while. Reaching his hand into his deep right pocket, he pulled out the wooden pendant he'd kept concealed from his father for the past year and a half.

Kakashi initially expected backlash. But he couldn't even bring himself to cringe. He was so foreign to any interaction with his father that a bit of anger and hate may have even made him happy. Instead he heard the man next to him start sobbing. Years of pent of sorrow and grief unlocked by his caring and loving son.

The father apologized again and again for his horrible treatment of Kakashi. For being a failure as a father. For being a failure as a husband. Kakashi didn't know how to react as his own father broke down in front of him. He felt as scared as he had since the day they had abandoned their mansion in Tokyo.

When his father had finally calmed down, he began to explain to Kakashi the origins of the wooden piece. It was a memento, he said, of Kakashi's mother.

The first thing she'd ever carved, and the first time he'd tried to teach her wood carving. It was supposed to be a dango, he said. Sakumo had never appreciated sweets, but Kakashi's mother had loved them, he said. Particularly mitarashi dango.

And so she'd agreed to learn on the condition that she'd be able to carve a dango stick by the end of the session he said. He agreed, he said. And although he tried to help her, she didn't manage to carve the stick at the end of the third dango ball. Instead, it turned out looking like a sharp fang rather than a thin stick, he said. He'd kept it safe in the room, he said. He was glad that fate had allowed Kakashi to preserve the carving that had meant the most of out all the creations in the wood room in Tokyo, he said.

Kakashi was happy. And for a bit, he thought that perhaps things might truly go back to normal. His father declared that they celebrate a reunion, giving Kakashi 1000 yen to buy drinks and fries at the local 7-ELEVEN store. Kakashi left for the store happily, happy because of his father's happy smile.

"Two fries and two Pocari Sweat's please!" Kakashi chirped to the teenage cashier, who gave him a generous discount. Kakashi pranced back to the bench near the tombo farms.

That was the last of Kakashi's memories with his father. For when he returned he found his father dead. Using the payphone nearby with the discount change, he called an ambulance. Hurry! He said. He could feel the fear and sadness welling up as tears in his eyes as the world around him began to spin. He saw the wooden 3-beaded piece rolling next to his father's corpse which he clutched fearfully wishing it was all a dream. Wishing he could've stayed with Kana-chan forever. Wishing he could've gone with her at the bridge half a year ago. Wishing his father hadn't died. That his mother hadn't died.

* * *

Kakashi punched the wall, startling pakkun, who cowered under the softwood bed. The evil dreams were back. It was 10 PM, Kakashi realized as he stared at his alarm clock. The same evil time of day he had to leave Tokyo into a furtive and criminal life.

He recalled running from the hospital from his father's corpse just as he had the day before from Obito's. After that, he'd managed to get back to some of the relatives who would now gladly take him in with the Sakumo matter "done-and-over-with". He then took some money and ran. Yes it was criminal. But Kakashi was more adult than a 8 year old child. He also adopted a mask. A flu mask did its job at first, but soon he got one covering his entire lower face.

He took the train back to the rural area in Japan they called Konoha. The same place he'd met the girl who he was confident was Kana. Or maybe Kana was just an idealized figment of his imagination. A source of hope to keep him alive for any reasons. He refused to give in to life as his father had. Anything to keep him from losing the will to live. He decided to enroll into school. And gradually, life wasn't just about survival. He had a _reason_ to live.

Sure he didn't have his precious Kana. But he'd made new friends. Like Obito.

Kakashi thought back to his first ever encounter with the dark-haired idiotic Uchiha.

It was his first day ever in school. He stared at the incomprehensible complex mumbo-jumbo on the board, squinting. What was this, English?! The seat next to him was empty, probably because parents had requested that their children not sit next to him, Kakashi thought ruefully to himself, running a hand through his now grayed hair.

Halfway through the class, just as Kakashi felt he was about to die with boredom, a raven-haired boy in a wacky outfit (let's just say, _not_ the school uniform), tumbled clumsily into the room.

It turned out Kakashi would sit next to this fool for the entire year. _Great_.

Lunchtime. Bingo. Kakashi made his way sulkily to the backyard of the school where a bunch of "hip" baseball players sat in their "hype group". Kakashi gave negative shits as he plopped on the tire in the sand, opening his self-packed lunch of tomatoes and an onigiri.

His presence seemed to repel just about everyone. Even the baseball players who seemed to ignore anyone less "hip" than them moved out silently, leaving Kakashi contently to his own company. _Actually though, great!_ Kakashi thought gleefully to himself as he chowed down. A plomp behind him. He turned around to see the boy in the blue t shirt and shorts: his clumsy tablemate.

"What do you want…"

"U-Um.. I-I just wanted to you know. Talk about things! I am gonna be sitting next to you for the next year, so, I j-just thought I might want to introduce myself. I'm Obito Uchiha." The boy said cheerfully through stutters held out a shaking hand.

Kakashi stared for a second, and slapped it away, causing Obito to cringe.

"Maybe I'll consider your invitation _after_ you start treating me like a normal human being."

Kakashi chuckled in bed to himself, wiping a small tear from his eye reminisced of his clueless partner. _He was such a loser back then…_ Kakashi thought to himself, smiling.

The next day, Obito came up to the same tire Kakashi was sitting on at lunch, this time with a confident face on, however feigned it may have been. Kakashi raised an eyebrow. _Well I'll give him credit for one thing. He sure is gutsy. Now if you could just add some attitude..._

Obito took a deep breath, ready to give it his all. "I'm OBITO UCHIHA! I'm your fucking classmate for the next year so you better respect that! Believe it!"

 _There we go._

Soon Kakashi found himself making more friends. He met Rin, and the 3 would play tag together during recess. But as the guys and girls grew farther apart in 5th and 6th grade, Kakashi and Obito played soccer every recess while Rin spent her time drawing with other girls in the trailers. Sometimes the ball would go on the roof, and the bravest to climb the roofs of retrieve ball was rewarded with prestige and glory. They had fun pranking annoying teachers. He even got a job at a small yet family-like wood craft store near his apartment he'd managed to buy out under his boss's name with stolen cash. And Rin, Obito, and Kakashi would enjoy time-to-time happy-time dinners at the Namikaze residence.

It was the life he'd always wanted. And yet now it was bringing more pain. The same pain he'd felt with his father after he had committed suicide. Why did this shit have to happen to him in the first place? What did Kakashi ever do to deserve the wrath of hell twice in his lifetime of only one and a half decades. Nonetheless shit happened. Perhaps the problem was the bonds of love and friendship altogether. Perhaps severing those bonds was the only way Kakashi would ever reach true content happiness.

* * *

Expect things to go downhill :(


	12. Leaving

Hello everyone! Sorry for the hiatus! Thank you to anyone who's still stuck with this hopeless series! I will try to get it done, I PROMISE everyone! Without further adieu...

* * *

School days were coming to an end. With the sports tournaments over, Nishigawa Middle School had scarcely a week left before summer kickoff.

And yet with the ever approaching month-long summer break, at first no one seemed to be happy. Without the lively Uchiha shouting down every corridor of the shabby school, even the teachers didn't have much in them to recite lectures. Sadly it was reality. The announcement was sudden, completely uncalledfor in the early monday morning. The principal near to tears managed to sob a brief mourning speech in front of the small group of 200 middle school students. The horrible weather matched the mood perfectly. Now wednesday, the lowerclassmen and upperclassmen were getting over it, carrying on with their average lives. Noise slowly refilled the temporarily hollow hallways. But Anko and the rest of the soccer club were still unable to fill the sadness with acceptance.

Anko tapped her pencil restlessly on the table. The lecture a mere blur to her ears. There were too many things on her mind. The cold blood she could still feel tingling from the night that was still so vivid in her imagination. The fact that the strongest person she'd ever come across had been killed so ruthlessly, quickly, and easily. Why was it that the best people died the worst deaths. Why was it that protectors were so willing to die for their loved ones.

On top of this was the unshakable reality that her days at Nishigawa were slowly winding down. She had less than a week until her departure. Which she still hadn't told Kakashi about. Actually, she had decided that she would tell him this final week. However the silver haired boy had been absent the entire week at school and from work, completely untraceable. She was confident that he hadn't even been in his apartment when she'd caught a peek of through his window. WIth every passing hour she felt increasingly panicked that she may never even see Kakashi before she'd have to leave.

It was an unbearable feeling of hopelessness. At lunch today she'd finally managed to communicate her concerns to Kurenai, who'd in turn notified Asuma, Gai, and Rin, telling them to be on Kakashi-lookout.

By the end of school, the rain was still drizzling hard as ever in the monsoon season. Shisui stoically cancelled practice as the everyone gathered his or her raincoat biking home.

Except for Anko who of course, didn't have a bike.

Each step she took felt like forever. The wet sloshing of water as she trudged along the road in her small, mesh shoes became increasingly uncomfortable. It sure was a luxury having someone bike you home. Especially when you really liked that person.

And for the first time in years she felt a tear trickle down her face. The salt stung after sudden reintroduction. And just cause it was raining. Just cause it was raining. She let it all out. She didn't want to go back to the freaking orphanage where she'd just get continually abused by her peers and authorities.

And for goodness sakes where was Kakashi? The last time she'd seen him he'd coldly ran past her outside Konoha hospital, masking his clearly evident tears. If only she'd stopped him then and given him comfort as any good friend would've done. Maybe then he wouldn't have been skipping school or risking his job at Harbor's Crafts even after all Minato and Kushina san had done for him.

Her time was running out. It was the eleventh hour.

* * *

I traced my finger over that toothy third grade smile in our first picture way back at Nishigawa Elementary school. We were all in our school uniforms, white polos, well, mine were smudged brown, and black shorts. Rin was awkwardly pinched between the both of us, me still with my white facial mask. I flipped through the small album Rin's mom had given me on graduation day. Boy was that a day. Freaking principal was cursing that he'd let me graduate.

The past few days I'd been on what I'd liked to call vigil. In my house. I looked out side and it wa raining cats n dogs. Why not. Perfect weather for a short walk.

Wrenching my door open, I stepped outside for the first time in 3 days. The wind hit my silver hair hard. It reminded me of that one day Anko had somehow convinced me into walking to Harbor's Crafts. Yeah… just like that day actually.

Crap. My bike had begun to rust a bit. No biggie. I smelled like wet dog. Oh well. This'll be a nice shower. I almost slipped making a tight turn past the vrooming cars. Who cares.

I found myself biking towards Nishigawa. It's not like I had anything better to do. Some kids in helmets biked passed me, but were probably too perturbed by the pelleting rain to notice it was me. The monsoon season had shut everything down, except for school of course. Even Ichiraku was closed. Kakashi had supposed Harbor's Crafts was closed, but never actually checked with Minato. To be honest, he didn't have it in him to do any work at the moment. He knew he was being selfish. Selfish by not fulfilling the opportunities Minato and Kushina had given him. Selfish in that, he wasn't caring for his life which had been saved by his one and only friend in the world.

I saw a figure ahead of him trudging in the rain. That characteristic purple ruffled pony tail. The broken hazel brown eyes staring down at those small little yet skilled soccer feet. Anko. I made a screeching brake next to her, and she looked up at me. She had bags under her eyes. Not unexpected, but still unnerving. Then again, I probably looked worse.

"What are you doing here…" she spoke softly, with hurt in her voice.

"Taking a quick bike." I replied curtly.

"Well, then. I suppose I shouldn't interrupt your precious time." she said, nudging past him as she continued to pace home briskly. Hold on, this wasn't how I wanted the conversation to end.

"Anko, wait." I called out. She looked back at me wearily, with blank, pale eyes. "Hop on?" I invited. And she, seemingly gratefully and to my relief, accepted.

Biking back home, everything seemed really normal. And even though I'd exchanged but a couple dozen words with her, everything seemed back to normal. Maybe it was because my anger had dulled down to a groaning ache. I didn't even have the sudden spikes and swings of rage I'd experienced for the past few days. Nothing really mattered anymore. It was as if life had stopped for me.

"Kakashi."

"Hmm?"

"Take me to your place. I need… to talk to you."

I nodded. It didn't annoy me that she didn't ask, but it disturbed me how she was being so direct. Well it was Anko. I was sure she had good reasons.

Parking in the apartment lot, we walked up shivering into my apartment. Thankfully I'd left the air conditioning off, so it wasn't freezing. I threw Anko a towel as I fell back into my handmade bed, staring at the blank white ceiling.

I closed my eyes, content with listening to her dry her hair and shuffle around in my small room. She spoke the first words.

"You haven't been at school lately."

"Great observation Holmes."

"Cut it Kakashi, everyone's worried about you."  
"Like I care." That pissed her off.

"Well Mr spoiled child, administration is going to start looking for answers, so you better stop ditching! Bawling over… over that incident isn't going to —never mind." she stopped herself as I'd begun to sit up. Good thing too. I sighed out my anger, flopping back onto the bed.

Silence. Talking with Anko had never been so awkward. And her next words set the tone.

"Anyways, I have to talk to you about something. Something… important that I need you to accept." she said selectively, voice shaking. And what followed was alarming.

"Remember the Dr. Orochimaru?"

I ahem'd, not knowing how else to curtail my emotions. I squeezed my eyes shut, still sprawled out on my bed, gray hair every which direction, my mask drenched, outlining my lips and nose.

"And remember how I wasn't up to date on medications?"

I nodded.

"I lied."

No no no no. Please no. I sat up, a look of grief slowly rising to my face. The second emotion these past few days following anger. I saw her look down clutching at her shirt as she continued.

"I'm actually being transferred back to the orphanage, then to another school."

"You're kidding me…" I trailed off not knowing how to feel. The only person I could imagine ever spending a lifetime with about to fall out of my life too. "Anko snap out of it please tell me this is some sick joke." I felt like my heart twist when she shook her head, still not meeting my eyes. "Ughhh!" I slammed myself back into my bed, startling pakun out of the room, rubbing my hands into my eyes.

"It's not my choice Kakashi! I want to stay here! With you, Rin, Kurenai, Asuma, and—

"And not Obito." I added sardonically. I couldn't help it. And suddenly I felt small yet strong hands grabbing my shoulders, shaking me violently.

"Don't think you're the only one suffering Kakashi! Me, Rin, and the others are hurting just as much as you are! That's not an excuse to skip school, work, and endanger yourself biking in that weather after all Obito has done for you!"

I swatted her hands off easily. And I played my trump card. Anger.

"How could you understand anything? You don't know me! I've known you literally for a good month at most! Obito was with me from the start! And now he's gone! Just like my parents were gone! Right? And now you're going! How could you possibly understand anything Anko!"

She stepped back, silent for a minute. And I was wondering if I'd said too much since I sure as hell didn't want to see Anko cry.

"You're right I've only known you for a few weeks." She started off shakily. "But you're damn straight wrong if you think that you're the only one who's lost someone precious in their life. We're just like each other, remember?" I remembered all right. It was the one of the first times they'd talked to each other. And yet in a few minutes after practice on a crappy soccer field they'd learned so much about each other with so little words exchanged.

"You're right. I'm sorry for getting so angry at you." I sighed reluctantly. She smiled widely, bringing me into a warm embrace. It felt nice, and i felt myself sink into her small yet comforting frame. But eventually she pulled back.

"Be at school tomorrow. Everyone's worried about you! Or I'm going to have to haul your lazy ass out of this apartment! Besides I'll be at school until Friday, so no worries until then!"

We didn't really exchange any more words as I watched her gather her bags, smiling all the while. And all the while I had a thought inching it's way to my tongue. It was like an itch that had to be scratched.

I had to ask.

"Anko."

"Mmm?"

"I-I don't know how to say this but... I think I like you." I managed, looking up hopefully. But what I got wasn't another embrace. Instead I got a distanced smile.

"Well I hope you at least like me considering how much time you've spent around me these past few weeks. I mean, it would suckkk if you were just playing the nice guy all this while." she laughed heartily. And then I couldn't stand it, I just said the most idiotic thing I've ever said in my life.

"No, Anko. I'm only 14, but I think I'm in love with you." I said matter-o-factly.

And to my dismay, she looked away from me, crestfallen and hurt. I didn't know what to think. Sure I didn't know what romance was. Maybe I'd only read a few cheesy novels about love at first sight. But I thought Anko and I really had something going for each other. I thought that just maybe...maybe she'd feel the same way about me.

"Kakashi… I really like you… and you've been a great friend to me. You've helped me basically survive here. But… I can't return the same feelings for you." she said finally. There was a still silence in the room. I didn't know what to say. My fears were confirmed, that was for sure.

"I'm so sorry Kakashi."

That was the last I heard from her as she ran out the door. The last I saw of her was frustrated tears welling up in those cute brown, perfect eyes.

* * *

.

.

.

As Obito had often told me, rejection hurt. It hurt like hell. All day I caught glimpses of her sitting in the back of the classroom, who seemed to avoid my gaze, staring at the clear sky outside the classroom window on the second floor of Nishigawa.

At lunch time, I knew Anko wasn't ready to sit with him just yet after I'd screwed up so yesterday. Besides, I still had after school and all Friday to enjoy my last school days with her before she had to leave. It wasn't a big deal when I'd thought it over last night. Japan was pretty small anyways. I'd probably be able to keep contacts with her.

Instead I spent the first few minutes of my day with Asuma and Gai, who seemed to be dying to talk to me since morning.

"Jesus dude we thought you were a goner or something." Asuma said exasperatedly, chewing on a piece of gum restlessly.

"Not me! I had complete faith that my eternal rival would overcome any challenge!" Gai chirped in, an attempt to appeal to my attention.

It never struck me how much my friends worried for me. It was really nice to have people who would support you any which turn you made. Today, I didn't feel like joining in the conversation. Instead I let my glance slide over to Anko, who was sitting in solitude at the window. I honestly liked everything about her. Her cute nose, thoughtful eyes, and messy purple, yet natural hair, unique like my own. And while I still had no idea why I'd received the rejection that I had, it didn't really matter if we could still be friends. After all, if I really did love her I'd be happy if she was happy right?

With these deeper thoughts twisting and turning, eventually I felt like I had to retract myself from the foolish conversation. Since it was such a nice day, I decided to go to the one cedar tree in the soccer field. Funny thing was, I never really got splinters after Anko took them out that day. Maybe I'd learned to be a bit more careful. Having splinter-less hands wasn't half bad after all. Munching on a rice ball, I looked up to the 2-B classroom window on the second floor from under the tree. Except Anko wasn't sitting at the window like she normally would have been.

And she always sat at the window. I started to get worried. Gathering my bento, I ran to the door slipping on my indoor shoes as I started to make my way up the stairs. And as if I thought things had been at worst earlier, I was so wrong.

To my horror, I saw 4 men followed by the girl of my constant thoughts walking in a line down the stairs to my destination. I just stood at the bottom of the steps, noticing the man in front, Dr. Orochimaru. His eyes were a sickly green, paralyzing yellow. But I wasn't paying any attention. I was staring Anko down. I didn't know if I had a look of rage, anger, remorse, sadness, or a combination of them.

Whatever it was, I hoped my mask covered it all up. I saw her catch my eyes, and for the second time this week I saw tears well up in here eyes. I stood motionless. My anger heightened with each step she took towards me. It seemed slow motion. She mouthed "I'm sorry" as she choked on her breath, walking past me wordlessly by obligation. I felt my rage boil down into anger in the seconds that followed. And suddenly I'd realized all that I'd forgotten to ask her.

Before I knew it I was rushing towards the front gates, chasing after the men in suits. She lied damnit! She said she'd stay! Why the hell is she already leaving? Anko damnit how am I ever going to find you again? I'd never asked for her phone number, email, anything. Postal address? Nothing. Damnit Damnit DAMNIT!

I ran and ran. But by the time I'd caught up the limo was already speeding away. Out of sight. My shoulders slumped at the hopelessness. And I wondered if I'd ever meet anyone like Kana, or Anko ever again. And I wondered if anyone would care enough to stay in my life.

* * *

I know this was a really horribly written chapter, but I just wanted to get the plot in. Please continue reviewing, and happy holidays everybody


	13. Visions

3 Years Later

Konoha Japan

* * *

"Ahh!" I exhaled. Nothin' better than a morning drink. I slammed my mug back on the small wooden counter in the nifty shop as I repositioned my mask. Thank god for coffee. Really kept me going.

"Rin!"

I got a yelp, "coming!" in a matter of seconds from the cashier stand on the other side of that new shiny ass wooden door: never really liked that thing.

Grabbing a decent shirt to put over my bare tanktop I grabbed a match and some cigarettes I'd managed to talk my way into getting for the occasion.

Rin ran up to me, smiling brightly as usual.

"You're never gonna get over him are you, Kakashi?" she laughed. She stopped calling me Kakashi-kun after middle school ended: well thank god for that anyway.

I just chuckled in reply, nodding my head and somehow shaking it at the same time.

I was 17, a high school graduate. Most guys went to college and the girls just stayed out of it. But me and Rin were quite the opposite. Rin was still a sophomore, but I'd skipped 2 grades. Apparently I was a prodigy or something.

The tests were pretty easy if you just paid attention in class. Studying wasn't really necessary.

Anyway I was done with school. Done, out. I finally gotten a hold of a full time job at Harbor's Crafts.

Minato calls me his secretary, even though I do jackshit, probably just to pay me a bit extra. Hey. I'll get paid anyday.

The funny thing is, the past three years seemed like a time machine. High school was a blur, I never particularly enjoyed anything, just lived my life as a boring student. Didn't go to any of those stupid parties even though I got invited to loads; hell let's not even talk about valentine's day.

Thinking back, _this_ was the life I wanted. Average, boring, peaceful. None of that other shit. I'm done. out. Really though. I don't really know if I've gotten over his death. Obito, Obito. I've told Rin I have. We just laugh it over often.

The pain that stabbed me every night of my last year in middle school kind of just subsided to a dull ache. An emotionless void, nothingness.

With a few new friends in high school, I'd liked to think that I'd gotten over it.

Interestingly I'd distanced myself from my middle school buddies, Asuma and Gai.

Mostly just cause I'd quit soccer after that incident, joining the science club in my 3rd grade in middle school just to screw around all day after school; yup, did that in high school too.

Thinking back it just all seemed surreal to me. What were the odds that we found some gangbangers after a soccer practice really. It seemed like some crime show. Then again my entire childhood did. Well yeah; it all seemed like a crime scene.

3 years ago crimes just like Obito's had begun to spring up tons in Konoha. So much so that a police department was developed in the small rural area. Ever since crime rates had supposedly plummeted. Living a normal life now, it all seemed like a dream. Obito, the soccer team… Anko.

For some reason, I can't remember her face. I still remember all my thoughts when seeing her: purple hair, beautiful brown eyes, striking personality… but for goodness sake I can't visualize or remember any of it. It's like I've gone under some amnesiac trauma, I don't even know if she ever existed. For all I know, all my memories could be fill-ins my brain would've just liked to believed and put in where I'd forgotten stuff to cover up for Obito's death.

I shook my head. This was getting nowhere. Realizing I was trailing behind Rin on our walk to Obito's shrine, I jogged to catch up.

"Sorry for the wait Rin. Just got caught up in my… thoughts." I finished.

"That's fine Kakashi.." Rin said softly, looking down in what looked like an expression of sadness. I couldn't really tell. I'd become somewhat robotic these past years.

We walked in silence for a bit. Towards the Otan district shrines. Funny… it vaguely struck my memory, but I shook myself out of the trance. No need to get anymore distracted.

But Rin brought it up anyway.

"This path… pretty nostalgic huh?" She said shakily as we continued to walk.

"Huh?" Stupid, stupid Kakashi. She broke into a fit of tears, and I awkwardly tried to comfort her as a biker drove by shaking his head condemningly at me. Jeez people these days.

I finally managed to calm her down as she half-laughed and half-cried joking, "Don't you remember silly? The summer festival?"  
Bam. It hit me. Oh _fuck_.

The purple kimono.

The dark woods.

 _Shit_.

Lights, lots of them.

Tons of children, laughing hysterically. Almost psychotically.

I turned to Rin, but all that was left of her was her clogs and a pile of kimono garments.

To Asuma.

Thank god he was there. Wait NO.

I couldn't warn him. Suddenly an old man chucked him down the long narrow staircase up to the shrines.

To Kurenai, thank god she was safe. Suddenly a kid tripped her, she tripped, and I heard a disgusting crack as her skull hit the stone shrines behind her as the prankster ran off. I tried to chase him.

But before I could stop anything I heard Obito behind me. NO! He was getting choked by…

The purple hair, Anko? Anko! ANKO!

What the fuck was going on. The bitch!

I tried to run over but Obito was already dead.

She turned.

Her eyes were gold, glinting, snake-like slits.

All I could hear was maniacal laughter.

I closed my eyes, I couldn't take this bullshit.

No!

"No! NOO!" I screamed, writhing at the steps to the shrines.

"Kakashi! KAKASHI!" I felt a strong grip on my shoulders, and I was back. That voice. Rin.

"Rin." I sighed.

"It's alright Kakashi. Everything's alright." She seemed to comfort me, although worriedly.

"Rin.. Rin… thank god.. thank god Rin." I sighed, drifting off into black sleep.

* * *

"Is he going to be alright Mr. Namikaze?" Asked Rin anxiously as Minato walked back from the waiting room. It was a dull scene, even with the white lights and ugly white walls.

"He's gonna be fine Rin. Don't you worry." Minato said smiling as brightly as he could manage.

"Okay." Rin exhaled, relieved. But her expression quickly morphed back into one of concern. "And… his mental condition?"

Minato sighed, thinking back to his conversation with the doctor.

" _Well I'm glad to know that he'll be alright. I'm just his employer, but he's like a son to me." Minato said._

" _If that's the case, I'm beyond sorry for this scare. Judging from the events you have described to me, he's only suffered from a short blank period from a small shock. But as for the cause for the shock…."_

" _Perhaps some sort of PTSD?"_

" _Yes along the lines of that Mr. Namikaze. I'm afraid if the history you have described to me concerning Mr. Hatake is true, it is an issue beyond my medical jurisdiction. As Shakespeare would say, a wound of the heart is not so easily cured by means of the professional doctor."_

" _I see…" Minato mused. "Thank you Doctor."_

"Rin, we'll just have to see. Only time can tell." Minato sighed.

"I understand Mr. Namikaze." Rin said sadly, looking down.

"I'm sorry I can't be of much use to do. The best we can do is try to convince Kakashi to meet with a psychiatrist, but we both know our Hatake-kun won't be that easy to convince, Rin." Minato exhaled. "But if it will make you feel any better, Kakashi's actually up in bed right now. So just because you've taken time out of school to visit, I've convinced one of the assistants to let you see him."  
Rin looked up brightly, smiling. "Thank you Mr. Namikaze!" She said jumping into his arms, hugging him.

"Hey hey! Shhh it's a one time thing alright? I really don't want the nurses here getting mad at me for this Rin… you know and then if Kushina finds out…"

Rin got off, smiled, and followed Minato's assistant into the patient area.

 _Beep Beep Beep Beep_

The life preservers in the room kind of set me at peace, calming my restlessness. But really speaking of restlessness I wanted to get out of this goddamn hospital. I was a bit pissed at Rin for putting me in this hell hole in the first place; sometimes she was _way_ too overprotective.

 _Speak of the devil_.

"What a pleasure to have you as a guest." I mumbled with slight annoyance as the placid girl walked in.

"Come on Kakashi, I know you don't want to be here, but it's for your own good." She assured me.

"Yeah right and losing my pay hour by hour is for my own good totally." I ranted. BS, but i didn't care.

"Oh come on! Don't give me that, you know Minato's going to pay you for your _hard work_ anyway." Rin scolded me.

"Hey I work plenty harder than you!" I accused pointedly. To my greater annoyance she just laughed it over. Sometimes Rin's happy attitude was just too much.

Suddenly she was giving me the serious look.

".. What." I was taken aback a bit by the intensity I normally wouldn't have expected from the neutral girl.

"Take care of yourself alright Kakashi?" She said, leaning in. I backed up in my bed a bit instinctively.

"Alright alright." I reassured her.

She sighed leaning back.

"You're never going to get better if you don't acknowledge that you can get better you know."

* * *

I kicked the ground muttering to myself as I walked up the stairs to the shrine.

Some stupid vision mystical shit was _not_ going to get in my way.

I grimaced as I ran Rin's words over and over inside my head.

 _You're never going to get better..._

 _Get better?_ I thought. People these days took things overboard. Nothing was wrong with me.

Secretly I gulped praying I wouldn't go psycho again. Really those dreams or whatever the doctor called them were too freaky for a second round.

Thankfully, everything went well this time.

I walked around the empty shrine area towards Obito's grave. I gulped again as I passed over the patches of ground where my visions had so vividly taken a hold.

Kneeling by the stone tablet labled, Uchiha Obito, I lit a fag with the lighter I brought along. I wasn't really into all that traditional fire stuff, and I'm sure Obito wasn't either; cigarettes would do right? I placed the burning fag on his grave exhaling and sniffing in the acrid smoke as it rose up into the trees.

The birds chirped and nature called softly to my ears.

You never really got complete quiet even all alone in mother nature's depths.

Still it was the most peace I could ask for.

"Hey idiot. You doing well up there?" I asked the grave smiling under my mask. I ran a hand through my silver hair as I peeled the mask off breathing in the fresh air along with cigarrette smoke.

"I'm doing great. So is Rin, so don't you worry. Still no news of Anko, but don't worry, I've gotten over her."

 _No you haven't Kakabaka._

Did I hear that right? I shook my head scoldingly at myself. No visions. None of that please.

I went back to something that had been bothering me for a while now.

"See, Obito. I just got hurt, I know, I know, don't worry I'm taking care of myself. Of course Rin came to visit, but Asuma, Gai, and Kurenai didn't. I mean hey I'm not pissed but they could've at least stopped by you know... You're my only real friend man... Really."

 _Think about it from their perspective..._

I ignored it again.

I continued. "Harbor's crafts is still lively as ever. You know you should've stopped by more often. The collection of things we have now is bigger than ever. We even have some younger volunteers I'm teaching. Ha-Yeah. Me teaching kids right? Unbelievable I tell you… I'm not quite processing it myself to be honest… Yeah? You think so? Don't kid me man."

I sighed as I smushed the cigarette's flame onto the ground. I flicked him a birdie, laughing. "See you later brother.."

* * *

It was a sunny day on the way back, the rice crops blowing in the wind. I walked past Maji-Burger, remembering the last meal I'd had with that loser. Call me crazy, but one day I'm going to bring some burger up to his grave and maybe some sake to drink on it.

It's not like people just disappear forever of the face of the earth when they die afterall.

It was still noon, so Rin was still at school, I realized. Alone shifts weren't the greatest things in the world. I walked languidly towards the backdoor to Harbor's Crafts; I probably had to do cashier work also since Minato told me he'd take the day off today.

I paused for the second. I stared up at the new 2 story complex, newer, and supposedly better.

I never liked it to be honest. Never went on the second floor unless I needed to.

The wood room was all I would ever need to work.

Regardless it was no secret that profits were booming for the company right now. Kushina was now a full time worker to support the growing industry.

And as much as I was happy for them, I couldn't help reminisce the times when I'd have a quiet old shabby place to myself. And maybe another..

Still, around noon on weekdays, of course no one would be in the shop. Even though it was the most annoying time to work, I'd get my personal space.

I went through the back door (which was still the same old one).

Same old room, same old trinkets. Minato bought me a crap ton of new tools but I kept my dad's white blade around for comfort's sake.

I stepped through the new polished one to the cashier counters.

When I saw the person behind the counter, I felt sick. I shook, feeling my memories leaking back, and my hair stood on end.

Not again, not here; I'd keep my composure.

But I stared into those familiar eyes as anger took over my previously dulled down grievance.

I felt my knuckles pop as I bristled uncontrollably. I couldn't forgive any of it.

"What the hell are you doing here?!"


End file.
